Once Upon A Housekeeper
by bluesky5678
Summary: …Christian Grey gets a temporary housekeeper to replace Gail (What the Hell? Can't be done) while she cares for her ailing sister. In this one, Ana Steele is not a strong, funny woman but timid and seemingly unremarkable


Hello, readers, welcome to #6. I haven't thought of a cheesy title just yet but I'm sure that something will come to me.

Let's see…summary…Christian Grey gets a temporary housekeeper to replace Gail (What the Hell!? Can't be done) while she cares for her ailing sister. In this one, Ana Steele is not a strong, funny woman but timid and seemingly unremarkable. Don't worry, still HEA. A little BDSM. As much sex as I can think up without being too repetitious. While reading the trilogy and Grey books, I found that I began skimming over the sex scenes because it was all getting a little same old, same old. Does that make me weird? Hmmm…

Also, I am careful to avoid too much repetition. Elena trying to kill Ana….again? Still, I find that I have repeated previous story points and I apologize for this. Hopefully, the rest of the story makes up for it. In this story, Ana is once again poor, dreadfully so. And she is also an angel of mercy for her neighbors. Like I said, I do try to avoid this but it just seems to be there anyway. Every truly good person I've ever known has looked after their neighbors so….

Again, I am publishing this complete. When asked by the FanFic publishing page, I always click on the 'complete' circle but when it publishes, it shows "Chapter 1, 2 million words". I mean, really, why do they bother asking? And, as always, use the PM to leave a review whenever you feel the need to say something. Those go right into my inbox. Clicking the little heart at the top is pointless because you will never receive notification of a next chapter 'cause there won't be one…. unless those also notify of a new story which would be an excellent idea.

I reiterate that, no offense, I write for my own pleasure, not for good reviews. I like them, of course, but if I worried too much about other's opinions, I'd freeze up. I'm as much a victim of my own ego as anyone else

Thanks to E. L. James for her story and characters. And, of course, to my brilliant proofreader, Doe.

 **ONCE UPON A HOUSEKEEPER**

"Andrea," Grey bellowed from his office.

"Sir, a reminder that we do have an intercom. As to your question, no, Welch has not yet vetted a temp housekeeper for you. As to your next question, yes, we've had many applicants but until you get ugly and poor, we will continue to attract the wrong type. Anything else?"

"No. Isn't being rich and handsome supposed to be an advantage in life and yet I cannot get a damn temp housekeeper?"

"Oh, we can get you one, sir, but only if you can handle stares and drool? The candidates thus far are looking more to be kept by you than to keep your house.

"Good night, Andrea," Grey groaned.

"Good night, sir."

"Taylor, isn't Gail's sister any better yet?"

"No, sir, and I think it only fair to point out that while I'm missing a wife, you're being 'burdened' with nightly delivery from the Mile High Club, one of the finest restaurants in the city."

"Speaking of, I'm calling in an order and we can pick it up on the way home. What do you want?"

"I miss my wife. Just get me an order of pasta with a side order of strychnine."

Grey was used to eating dinner at the breakfast bar while Taylor was accustomed to eating dinner with his wife in their own quarters. Tonight, they sat together at the dining room table, grumbling.

At least, Taylor figured, Grey could look forward to company over the weekend with his submissive.

"Can she cook?"

"Why do you suppose that Gail left us a couple dozen casseroles in the freezer?"

"So we'll never want to eat tuna again?" Taylor figured at least his boss would be staying in for the weekend and Taylor could maybe sex Skype with his sweet wife. He bid Grey goodnight and headed for his quarters. He wanted to get in a few hours before Grey had a nightmare and then spent 2 hours playing Chopin's Opus Whatever. 

**Y**

Andrea popped in unannounced with a smile on her face.

"Welch believes that he has found a housekeeper for you. He's asked her to come by tonight. Can you get out of here by 5? I'll vouch for you with the boss."

"Is that all I get? Your happy face?"

"Well, she looks good on paper and I would be delighted to not have to hear about this problem again."

"Show me the paper that she looks so good on," demanded Grey. Efficient as always, Andrea slammed the resume down and, with a glare, dared him to find something wrong with this one.

"Well, she sounds…" Grey started…."perfect, right?" finished Andrea. "Do not find something wrong. She isn't Gail, I get it."

"Okay, okay…. tonight 5:30. Is that okay with you, person who works for me?" he snarled.

Normally, Grey would not allow all the disrespectful remarks he'd been subjected to by Taylor and Andrea but normally Taylor had a filter and Andrea was calm and cool but since the absence of Gail, both were a bit on edge…. because Grey was.

Andrea looked so pleased to be done with this project that she fairly skipped out of the office.

Grey groaned. His candidate was poorly educated. She'd worked three years in a mom and pop coffee shop which had just closed and where she probably wiped floors and baked muffins. Oh, how he wanted his Gail back. He was cheered to know that at least his sub would arrive at 8.

Adele was a good find. She had little in the way of hard limits and she had a plentitude of experience. She'd begun training to be a sub as a teenager when she found that vanilla sex bored her. Ten years later, she was much in demand but Elena had managed to snag her for Grey after she left her previous Dom, looking for something different. For three weeks, she demanded more and harder. She never used a safe word. A month had not gone by and Grey was already sure that he'd want to extend her contract beyond three months. If tonight's interview with the temp didn't work out, he knew he'd want to beat the living daylights out of Adele. Sometimes, considering the beatings he gave his subs, he wondered why it was that they actually liked them.

He did not recall ever enjoying the beatings he received from Elena. He did it for the fucks only. He didn't like being beaten with whips and canes but if he tried to simply flog Adele, she would call 'Red' and then request that he beat her harder _and_ with whips and chains. He didn't really have to work at giving her orgasms; she came while just being beaten. He didn't understand how extreme pain could cause extreme pleasure and he also would have preferred having his subs cum because of how he touched them, not because he laid a cane on their backs.

BDSM was all he'd ever known and he had always enjoyed it. He was, however, sensing a lessening of enthusiasm for the practice but he could not bring himself to acknowledge it because he wouldn't know where to go next. The only person he could talk to about his misgivings was Elena, his former dominatrix and only friend. Yet he knew that Elena would only mock him and censure him for his doubts. She had taught him all he knew about sex and he deferred to her.

 **ANA…. FRIDAY NIGHT**

Ana knew that she appeared mild-mannered to people but she also sometimes would have rages during which she tore her tiny studio apartment apart and then would sit in the midst of the debris, sobbing for an hour. She never saw these breakdowns coming and was grateful that they came only when she was alone. She tried to understand them and figured that they were based on repressed anger but she worked hard to avoid them or at least to see them coming. Maybe someday she could afford a therapist, she thought.

At least she had something to do tonight, after her interview. She didn't expect to get the job so when she got home, she could go about repairing all the damage caused by her latest temper tantrum. Then, perhaps, she could make some dinner for Mrs. Hirsch, the frail old lady next door. Thus, having relieved herself of her fury, she looked into her closet for something appropriate for a housekeeper-to-be.

Three years of casual clothes for the coffee shop had left her with a wardrobe of t-shirts and jeans. She did have one dress. It was a bit large for her now, not that she cared, but the person she was interviewing might. Oh, well, she'd just tell him that she'd had the flu. He'd just think that she was nuts if she told him that she gave much of her food away. It was a pragmatic move, after all. Without food, Mrs. Hirsch, among others, might die. She, Ana, would simply feel weak and maybe fall over once or twice. Poor people have to be practical.

If she got the job, she might put on weight. She could also visit the local thrift stores to buy the sort of clothes her 'possible' employer could want her to wear. Still, she thought, it's all what-ifs since getting the job was unlikely and it was just a temp position anyway.

She noted the time, 5 pm. With two bus changes and a three-block walk, she would just make it by 5:30. So, with little enthusiasm and no expectations, Ana headed to the bus stop a block down. She brought along a book. She'd been told that her possible employer was well-to-do so she figured that he/she would probably keep her waiting awhile and a book would keep her from just walking out.

 **W**

Grey was in his study. It was 5:15. Why couldn't this applicant be early? He wanted to get some work done before Adele arrived. He amused himself skyping with his little sister, Mia, who wanted him to see the hilarious cat video she'd found. It was funny but only for Mia would he tolerate wasting time on the internet. She had recently completed her culinary studies in Paris and received her certification as a chef. She'd then flown home on his jet, loaded down with Parisian apparel, half of which she'd never wear and the other half of which would be out of fashion in six months. She'd also shown no inclination toward employment. He noted the time 5:30. The applicant, as far as he was concerned, was late. He bid goodbye to Mia and started to bark at Reynolds.

"Reynolds, I have an appointment at 5:30! What's the hold up?!"

Reynolds knocked softly on the study door and then opened it to reveal a creature of some sort. She stood, looking at the floor, shuffling her feet.

"Sir, this is Ms. Steele, your 5:30. It is now 5:31. Should I leave you?" Reynolds figured that Grey was such an arsehole that he'd kick her out… so perhaps he should wait.

Grey just looked her over. She was wearing a dress, cinched tightly at the waist with a belt into which she'd apparently punched extra holes. Her shoes were simple black flats, well worn. She was carrying an old purse. He looked up into a small face overpowered by heavy black frames and a grey tint to the glass. Her hair was parted down the middle and bunched into something on the back of her head.

He looked down again at her resume. This person looked like a woman of middle years, not a 21-year-old.

"You are Anastasia Steele?" he asked.

"Yes. Sir," she responded in a voice so soft and quiet that he had to strain to hear her.

"Okay, please have a seat, Ms. Steele."

Ana looked around the room. It was quite large, bigger than her studio. There were couches and chairs. Some were close to the desk. Some were further away. Ana began to feel nervous. What if she sat in the wrong place and the man got angry? She decided to sit in the chair near to the door so that if he began yelling at her or even trying to hit her, she'd have the best chance to get away. Maybe the other man would help her….or maybe he'd help his boss. She tried to control her fear but her breathing came harder.

She sat ramrod straight on the edge of the chair with her hands folded on top of her purse. She also continued to look down. She had been awed as the bus traveled uptown….so much so that she asked the driver if she were on the correct bus. When she arrived at the door of Escala, she felt her breathing becoming difficult. She was so intimidated by the building itself that she almost turned around to go home. She was nothing, a nobody who looked tattered at best; they'd never want her in their home. She didn't even know who Christian Grey was.

Grey looked at her, studied her, which was easy to do because she wasn't looking back.

"Ms. Steele, this coffee shop in which you worked…did you do much cooking other than muffins?

"Yes, sir."

"Ms. Steele, please speak up." Although he didn't speak harshly, Ana fought to contain her tears.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir. I cooked anything people wanted, sir.

"Ms. Steele, this apartment is 10,000 square feet. Most of it is not in use and you will not be expected to do daily dusting of all 10,000 feet. Your duties will mostly be confined to the kitchen, laundry, great room, 2 bedrooms and my playroom."

"Sir, I've never cleaned x-boxes and such. I don't want to do damage to sensitive electronics."

"Ms. Steele, my playroom is not filled with electronics. However, we'll get to that later. You will be expected to live here for the duration of your employment with me. Would that be a problem?"

"No, sir."

"I do have a situation that may be a problem for you. Therefore, before I complete the interview, I'll need you to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Do you understand what that is?

"Yes, sir."

Grey was becoming irritated with Ms. Steele's near whispers and clipped responses. And despite saying that she understood the nature of NDAs, he was wary.

"Explain to me what you understand an NDA to be," he said in certain tone.

Ana took a deep breath and struggled with her fear.

"A non-disclosure agreement means that I am to repeat nothing I hear, to mention nothing I see both during your employ and after. You could ruin me legally if you discovered that I violated the agreement….although..," Ana hesitated.

For the first time, Grey noticed that her voice trembled and her small hands were shaking.

"…although what, Ms. Steele?" he now spoke more gently.

"Hmm….I haven't anything for you to seize. Perhaps, to better protect yourself, you should threaten me with something else, sir."

Grey considered her clothing and realized that she was correct. There was nothing he could take from her. He steepled his fingers in front of his lips and then leaned forward, lifting her chin to look her in the eye as much as possible.

"Can I trust you to be truthful with me and to keep my secrets. Nothing illegal, of course." He could feel her shaking.

"Yes, sir."

"Very well. Sign the NDA and then I'll show you around. Afterwards, we'll decide if you want to work here."

Ana stood and somehow managed to put her signature to the agreement. Grey rose from his chair and indicated that she should follow him. There were questions that she wanted to ask…..do you have a wife and children living here? for instance…but he'd offered no opportunity for inquires of her own.

The kitchen was a dream, like something out of a magazine. The grand piano and the view out of the great room window were thrilling. The laundry was even nice, nothing like the dump down the street from her house. She wondered if she'd be allowed to wash her own clothing in this room. Mr. Grey's bedroom was larger than most houses, she figured and again, the incredible view facing the east. His bed was much larger than a king-size. How, she wondered, did one person change the sheets? It also appeared that the sheets were ironed!

Next to his bedroom was a smaller room, still quite large, with a private bath. This, he said, would be her room. Through all this, he couldn't get a read on her reaction. She said nothing, her mouth remained closed and still and he could not see her eyes….which were popping out of her head.

Then he lead her up the stairs to a wide corridor. "All right. Now, Ms. Steele. This room at the end of the hall is a guestroom that will have to be regularly cleaned. The guest will occupy it from Friday night at 8 pm until 1 pm Sunday." Again, no reaction to the odd hours.

"This next room is my playroom. I engage in a singular type of sexual activity called BDSM. My partners are all here by contract, consensual contract. There is nothing illegal or immoral about our activities although they are viewed as repugnant by much of society. Do you believe that one's sex life is a matter between consenting adults? You would have to clean this room, change the sheets, etc. every Monday morning. If this is something in which you wouldn't care to be involved, then our interview is over and I thank you for coming."

"So, do you want to see the room, Ms. Steele?" Grey held his breath. She didn't look like much and seemed to have no personality but, lord, did he want a home cooked meal.

"As you wish, sir."

Grey opened the door and the dim lights came on automatically. Ms. Steele found the lighting to be incompatible with her tinted glasses and so, walking past Mr. Grey, removed them as she moved into the room. She didn't turn to face him but did look around her. Then she returned her glasses to her face and walked out of the room. She stood in the hallway, waiting for him.

"Well?" asked Grey.

"Sir?"

"What do you think?"

"About, sir? It doesn't seem difficult to clean."

Grey led the way back down to the study, shaking his head the whole way.

"Ms. Steele, I find you acceptable to replace Mrs. Taylor. Would you like the job?"

"Yes, sir." Grey thought he detected a small element of surprise in her voice.

"When shall I begin?"

"Now. My guest will not be arriving for another 90 minutes and I am starving. Let me know when dinner is served," and, at that, he began to walk away.

"Sir! Sir!" Grey had to chuckle at Ms. Steele's version of yelling.

"Yes, Ms. Steele?"

"What would you like to eat, sir?"

"Whatever is in the kitchen. Surprise me," he actually smiled at her. Thank god that was settled. She was an exhausting woman. He wondered if he'd have the energy for a couple hours in the playroom. Adele would not be happy if he wasn't up for pounding into her and caning her 'til she almost bled.

 **R**

Grey made moaning noises while he ate Ana's pasta. He wolfed down her salad and tore into the bread. She didn't understand what any of it meant. She made ready to flee, backing up against the range. Grey noted that she seemed fearful. Now, he wondered, what is _that_ all about?

"Ms. Steele, this is delicious, beyond expectations!"

Ana's reaction was a relieved sigh. "Would you like dessert, sir?" Grey noted that her voice was stronger. Maybe she'd just needed encouragement.

"You didn't have time to bake a chocolate cake, did you?" he attempted to tease her, to make her more comfortable. Wrong.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Grey. I'm such a klutz and slow and I didn't think. I don't think well and I should have known that you would want dessert. I feel so foolish and I've let you down right out of the gate. I could hunt around in here for ingredients or go shopping. I certainly understand if you've changed your mind about hiring me. I've failed my probationary period. I'll go now…she trailed off with a baffled Grey staring at her.

"Ms. Steele, sit down on that stool."

She sat. She figured that she was probably going to get a stiff lecture about her errors and unsuitability for the job because a man of his wealth expected better and then he would fire her.

She was trying so very hard to hold in the tears and wished she could just leave.

"Ms. Steele, could you please remove your glasses? I'd like to look you in the eye while I talk to you."

Ana didn't want to remove the glasses. She wore them because she was shy and they helped her to hide from people. Thus, she hesitated. "If you're going to ask me to leave, then there is no point in looking into my eyes," she said, hoping to avoid exposure.

Grey was not a man used to hearing no. In fact, the only time anyone said no to him was during negotiations for a new acquisition and that would usually result in the opposing party being bested and humiliated.

Thus, Grey simply reached across the distance separating him from Ms. Steele and removed her glasses. She immediately lowered her eyes, looking at the floor. Grey sighed, defeated.

"Ms. Steele, that meal, demanded by me on the spur of the moment and to be made in a strange kitchen, was superb. I would be a fool to fire the person who cooked that meal. Do you understand?"

For a moment, Ana said nothing. She seemed to wipe at her eyes.

"Thank you for that kind comment, sir. It was a very simple meal. If you still wish dessert, I saw the ingredients in the fridge for a parfait. Would you like to work in your study while I make the parfait, sir?"

Grey wanted to lift her chin but clearly it would be an invasion of her privacy and, odd as it was for him, he did not want to force her into revealing herself. Instead, he thanked her for the offer but admitted to being too full to eat so soon again.

"Then I'll make the parfait and, if you wish, you can eat it later. Would that do?"

Her voice was stronger again and he didn't want to do anything to derail her so he smiled and thanked her for her great idea.

"Shall I make one for your guest as well?"

Grey almost laughed. Adele would want to go to her room to remember and savor the Red Room experience she'd just had. She'd probably masturbate in the shower for an hour. In the morning, she'd let him know that she'd given herself orgasms which was against the rules so that he would punish her. Imagining her enjoying a parfait was bizarre. He told Ana that his guest disliked sweets.

Ana hunted through the kitchen and pantry for chocolate cake ingredients but, finding none, left a note for Mr. Grey and went down the stairs to find a grocery store. As soon as she hit the street, Reynolds pulled up next to her. "Ana, where are you going? Mr. Grey is wigging out up there!"

"I wasn't leaving. I was just going to the grocery store for a few things," Ana explained.

"Mr. Grey was concerned for your health and well-being what with you wandering around in the dark. Please, just call security when you have to go somewhere," lightly scolded Reynolds.

Ana stared at Reynolds for a few moments. To Ana walking to the grocery store on a well-lit street was a simple chore not requiring a security staff and she was befuddled by the idea of even of having security. She'd always taken care of herself and had a hard time understanding that her boss was concerned about her safety. Suddenly, a question occurred to her.

"Mr. Reynolds, if you are here, who is upstairs guarding Mr. Grey who is far more valuable than me?"

Reynolds smiled. Her naiveté' was kind of charming, he thought. "Mr. Grey has a large security staff, only a few of whom are visible. Now, could you please get in the car before I get fired. I don't know how you got out of the building without my noticing so I'm already in trouble for that oversight."

As predicted, when they arrived back at the penthouse, Grey called Reynolds into his study and sternly asked how it was that Ms. Steele made it to the street without being noticed. Reynolds said that he would double check the tapes but that he'd been on watch the entire time and the elevator didn't even ping. He himself was bewildered. Reynolds suggested simply asking Ana how she done it but Grey was concerned about her timidity and that she would fear that she was in trouble. He'd have to approach her carefully.

Meanwhile, Ana happily unpacked groceries. She'd never before been able to buy whatever she wanted in a store and had purchased ingredients that she'd dreamt of someday being able to use. She was so excited that when Grey came out to check on her, she forgot herself and spoke with a normal albeit still soft voice.

As he walked to her, he had to smile at her enthusiasm. Buying groceries had never occurred to him to be exciting. For that matter, he'd never bought groceries.

"Did you get what you needed?" he asked, not prepared for the recitation of a long grocery list. Still, he found that he enjoyed it as she explained each purchase. Then, in a casual way, he asked her how it was that she left the building. He was dumbfounded when she said that she took the 'staff stairs'.

"I was not aware that we had 'staff stairs', Ms. Steele."

"Well, you've probably never used them, sir. They are in the back behind the laundry room." Grey was still staring in confusion. "I've read, sir, that rich people are often unaware of utility rooms, laundries, sometimes even kitchens because these are rooms that they never use."

"Actually, Ms. Steele, I am aware of the back stairs but I am clueless as to how you did not set off the alarms and how you avoided the security monitors. If there is a flaw in the system, my security team needs to know."

"Sir, it isn't my business, I know, unless gunmen show up in the kitchen, of course, but have you been threatened?"

"Yes, often and daily. It's part of the territory. You get rich and people decide to shoot you. Envy, I'd guess. Anger. The conviction that I have something that I have not earned and have probably procured through duplicitous means."

"But I'm poor and I'm not angry or envious of those who have more," said Ana, confused.

Grey smiled gently. "Most people are not like you, Ana. Of that, I am certain." No note was taken of his use of her first name.

"Well, sir, I pressed a button and then I left a soup can propping the door open so that I could get back in, "Ana smiled and Grey felt a flutter in his chest, wondering what that was about and thinking that perhaps he should have his heart checked.

"Pressing the button turned off the alarm and propping open the door threw the system out of whack so no one saw you leaving the building. Reynolds was lucky to see you walking in front of the garage. He was quite worried."

"Hmmm….he described you as 'wigging out'. I'm sorry, sir, that you have to be so fearful. Mr. Reynolds told me that you are a philanthropist and have even sent food to Darfur."

Again, Grey felt the flutter in his chest.

He grinned at Ana's innocence. "The people who threaten me and mine are usually crazy and jealous. My philanthropic record is of no interest to them. They just need someone to hate."

Ana frowned and pouted. Again came the flutter in Grey's chest. He'd better get on that cardiac check soon.

"But, sir, I am not yours. So why would someone care about hurting me?"

Something about Ana saying that she wasn't his made him uncomfortable. I own, he thought, I control.

"Again, Ana, all I can say is that people are crazy and they think hurting you would hurt me so you would do in a pinch. Please do not leave again without security. I know it seems like an imposition but…."Grey shrugged.

"If I want to go the park to read, I need security?" Ana looked perturbed.

Grey took a deep breath before nodding.

Ana seemed to study him for a bit before saying that she didn't want him to have to worry about his housekeeper in addition to everything else so she would comply with his orders.

"Do not worry again, okay?" she asked sweetly. It was the first time he noticed her lovely, pink lips.

Grey nodded and returned to his study. He found it hard to concentrate. He called Reynolds in.

"Yes, sir?" asked Reynolds.

"She turned off the alarm and propped open the door with a can of soup and then walked down 20 flights, intending to walk back up again while carrying groceries. She thought the stairs were for staff," sighed Grey.

Reynolds chuckled. "She's something else, isn't she?"

"Yes," grimaced Grey, "she seems quite clueless. Keep an eye on her. Consider yourself to be her CPO while she's here. And good luck. She may surprise us again."

"Yes, sir," replied Reynolds, thinking 'this should be fun'.

Ana understood that she was to be invisible after 8 pm when Grey's sub arrived. The subs were not used to anyone being around during their weekend stay. Mrs. Taylor had always gone to her private quarters for the weekend, emerging only on Sunday evenings to prepare Grey's dinner. The subs did not expect the housekeeper to meet them at the elevator.

This had not been thoroughly explained to Ana and, thus, at 8 pm she was still cleaning the kitchen and preparing a parfait for her employer when the elevator pinged. Thinking it was her duty, she stood ready to greet her employer's guest as the doors opened.

Adele had never seen anyone else at the penthouse. It was her time. She walked right into a small woman with large glasses who offered to take her coat. Where was Grey? She was irate. Subs did not care for competition and, indeed, with contracts in place, did not expect it. She threw her coat at Ana and walked down the hall to Grey's study. "5 minutes?" she inquired.

"Yes, Adele, 5 minutes," Grey replied, unaware of Adele's pique or Ana's presence.

Meanwhile, Ana hung Adele's coat in the foyer closet and then retired to her room. Unfortunately, Adele was easily perturbed. Was Grey, she wondered, using 2 subs to satisfy his appetites? She certainly dare not question her dom. His will was law. Very well, she would wear him out so badly that he wouldn't have time for a session with another sub. Her other inclination was to beat the hell out of her competitor.

She did, indeed, work Christian hard….never using a safe word and calling for 'harder' and 'more'. She asked for canes and whips and the cross and ass play for hours. Grey was, indeed, exhausted and finally used his Dom choice to cease. He knew that he should be pleased with Adele's dedication but something told him that her enthusiasm was entirely to do with her pleasure and more assuredly not his. He was her dominant and his pleasure was supposed to be her intention. She'd never behaved like this in the past and he was befuddled as to the change. He thought to ask her about it but that would be against his Dom training and principles. He'd let it go this time and assume it was a one-off, possibly because of issues in her own life and nothing to do with him.

And so, he sent her off to her room. She'd assured him that she wished to administer her own aftercare.

Grey went to his study and sat at his desk with a glass of bourbon. Something was eating at him and he didn't know what it was. About an hour after Adele had gone to bed, it then occurred to him that he was not feeling relieved of his tensions and he was not feeling his usual sense of euphoria after a playroom session. On the contrary, he was restless and somewhat depressed. Two glasses of Jim Beam did not relieve him of these feelings so he decided to play the piano for a while before he attempted to sleep. It was nearly midnight but that he might awake anyone never occurred to him. Consideration of others' feelings rarely occurred to him. No one ever complained to the multibillionaire boss so why would he take note?

He changed into his sleeping clothes, an old t-shirt and a pair of pj bottoms and headed for his Steinway. If he'd thought about it, he would have laughed. He'd been wearing the same outfit to bed since he was a little boy.

He sat on his bench and began to pick out a few notes, waiting for inspiration to strike. He preferred to play classics because they were more complex and tired his brain enough to attempt sleep. He knew he'd have only a few hours before the nightmares stole the rest of his night. Usually on a Friday night he didn't mind because he knew the next morning he'd have playroom time. Tonight, again for reasons that escaped him, anticipating morning playroom time did not excite him. Geez, was he becoming asexual, he laughed inwardly.

He played opuses by Chopin, Liszt, Mozart and Debussy. It was as he finished up with Clair de Lune that he noticed a shadow on the stairs. It was Ana, sitting on a step, humming Clair de Lune while half asleep. He knelt down in front of her and couldn't help but reach out and run his hand through her dark hair. He leaned in closer to enjoy Ana' scent before he reminded himself that he was sniffing an employee. He gently shook her shoulder and remarked that she couldn't sleep on the stairs. He ordered her to her room. She wobbled down the hallway and into her room. He thought he ought to stick around to make sure that she actually laid down on her bed. He stood in astonishment as she sleepily shrugged off her robe and crawled under the covers.

She was naked…..beautifully, stunningly naked. She kicked off some of the blankets revealing small, perfect breasts and the belly button of her slender waist. Grey sank to the floor. He'd just watch her for a while, that's all.

 **Y**

When he opened his eyes next, the blackout curtains were closed. It was almost 9 am, quite a ways past his usual wakeup time. Adele would be looking for him. Why had he closed the curtains? Then, like a slap across the face, it struck him. He had slept, sort of, with his housekeeper…. a tiny, fragile, shy girl who must have been appalled to wake up and find her boss on her floor.. What the hell had he been thinking? He lay there, realizing that he'd slept the night through and awakened refreshed. However, now he would have to get dressed and face Ana and probably a pissed off, impatient Adele.

When he walked into the kitchen area, there was a breakfast of pancakes, bacon, fruit and juice waiting for him. Adele was nowhere to be seen. He allowed himself to enjoy his breakfast and then bounded up the steps, two at a time, to knock on Adele's door. He was feeling good and ready for playtime. As he passed the playroom, he saw that she was already kneeling in place. He changed quickly into his playroom jeans and instructed Adele to stand so that he could hang her from the carabiners. He thought to ask how long she'd been waiting but the longer she'd knelt there, the more it would make her legs ache and the happier she'd be. It was an energetic morning for both of them. Adele even used her safe words, somewhat to his disappointment.

Around noon, he released her, telling her that he'd bring her some lunch and that, if she wished, she could sleep a while.

Again, there was a lunch of soup and sandwiches waiting on the breakfast bar with a note from Ana asking for him and Adele to check off the ingredients that they would usually like on their sandwiches. He was disappointed that Ana seemed to be elsewhere. He took a tray to Adele who was quite impressed. Usually, his subs did the cooking but not Adele. She was well aware of her value as a superior sub and that doms would overlook her lack of cooking skills.

Then Grey returned to the security room to ask for Ana's whereabouts.

"Isn't she in her room, sir? We didn't lose her again, did we?" asked Reynolds.

Grey knocked on Ana's door. Ana didn't answer so Grey returned to the security office and he and Reynolds went through the security tapes. Yep, there she was…. sitting on the 'staff stairs' reading, the door propped open with a soup can. Grey breathed a sigh of relief and then went down to sit with her.

"What are you doing out here, Ana? There's a beautiful library upstairs, not to mention your own room."

"You won't be mad if I tell you something?" she smiled so shyly he almost missed it.

"No, Ana, I don't think that I could be mad at you," he smiled back tenderly.

Ana took a deep breath, let it out and then looking down, spoke. "You need your privacy for your 'singular' activities…."

"Yes….."worried Grey.

"There is a vent in the library that conveys sounds and voices. The library is directly above my room so the sounds continue down." At this point, her face was tomato red and a small tear was crossing her check from under her giant glasses. "I'm sorry, sir, you need and deserve your privacy."

"Ana, did the sounds you heard frighten or disgust you?" Grey asked gently.

"Well, I've been doing some reading about BDSM activities and I asked Reynolds to take me to a club for observation purposes. He refused. The noises didn't bother me so much as confuse me. I thought of asking Ms. Adele to explain her interest in being beaten but concluded that she would consider such a request to be an intrusion."

"Well, I think that you're right there. I've wondered myself, on occasion, what subs are thinking but explaining ourselves to each other is not part of the contract. It is, in fact, grounds for termination."

"I don't wish to intrude so I'm going to sit here and read, Mr. Grey. I think that Ms. Adele is waiting for you. Enjoy your afternoon, sir."

Considering himself dismissed, Grey went back up the stairs wondering about last night. Did he imagine that?

 **RENNIE'S CHARGE**

Reynolds' comment that guarding Ana would be 'fun' was true, in a twisted sort of way. Almost every day that week, Ana did something that required Reynolds' attention. One day it was standing on a chair to dust a top shelf. Reynolds caught her as she fell but she pointed out that she would only have fallen a short distance. Another day he caught her leaning so far over the balcony railing that she could have easily toppled right off the side of the building. She was trying to rescue a baby bird. Failure to do so caused many tears. On Monday, she tried to carry all the sheets from the king-size bed in the playroom down the stairs to the laundry, tripped and wound up rolling down the stairs and being completely entangled and encased in red satin like a cocoon. Reynolds snapped a picture with his phone and sent it to Grey before rescuing Ana. Grey laughed 'til he cried.

Every day Grey would arrive home to an immaculate house and a perfect dinner. Then he would call Reynolds into his office for a report. Grey didn't know whether to laugh or worry still more. They both worried whenever Ana wanted to go out. The odds of some sort of accident were so much higher. One day she ran out into the traffic to scoop up a small kitten that had lost her mother somewhere. She saved the kitten and Reynolds saved her….. thereafter, delivering a stern lecture about dashing into traffic without looking. Her glasses had fallen off and were crushed by a passing car. When she got home, she went into Grey's office to ask permission to keep the kitten. He was deep into studying a spreadsheet, about to say 'no way', when he looked up to reiterate Reynolds' lecture.

He saw her eyes and was struck speechless. Ana thought that he was overcome by the cuteness of the kitten which was pure white with green eyes. Ana sat in the chair next to Grey and encouraged him to cuddle it. He was just staring at her as he held the kitten and he thought he heard himself say, "sure, keep the cat.'' He was just too stunned. Even wearing those giant tinted glasses, he could tell that she was an extremely pretty woman with a great body but now he felt that he was looking into her soul, an angelic soul.

He heard her say, as if from a far distance, that dinner would be ready in 45 minutes and then she was gone from the room. Reynolds came in after a few minutes and remarked on the cat.  
"You're going to let her keep it, eh? Kinda surprised me."

"Reynolds, did you know what her eyes were like before today?"

"Yes, sir. Ah, blue. Are you okay, sir? I mean, you've seen blue eyes before. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, Adele has blue eyes."

"She does?" Grey asked, perplexed.

"Yes, sir. Can't wait for dinner. Pot roast and red potatoes. See you later, sir."

Reynolds was right, thought Grey. They were nothing special. Just blue. Exceptionally shiny, blazing blue. He'd never even noticed Adele's eyes. He'd have to pay attention. Maybe he was making something out of nothing. Why would Ana's blue eyes have anything special about them?

The pot roast was perfect, everything was perfect and ordinarily Grey would have noticed but he couldn't take his attention off of Ana's blue eyes and then her silky mahogany locks and her creamy skin. What the hell was happening? She'd grown more comfortable with them over the past few weeks and now she smiled more. Was that it? 'Cause, gosh, did she have a great smile. And Grey found himself willing to do anything to cause it. Sometimes, she beamed and his breath caught in his lungs. There was something else, too, and they'd still failed to discuss it. It was unusual and crazy but they were sleeping together most every night and the nights that they didn't, he didn't sleep.

It had started with Ana sitting on the stairs and falling asleep listening to him playing. Then it had advanced to Grey going to her room and carrying her back to his. They didn't have sex; they just slept. Comfortably and without nightmares. Grey didn't think of Ana in sexual terms. She was just a warm body who somehow protected him from his nightmares. Sleeping with the boss was, of course, not a condition of employment and this whole scenario, he thought, was nuts. And what did Ana think? Did she feel coerced? They had to talk and soon.

On weekend mornings, he'd awaken to a darkened room, a later hour and no Ana. On weekday mornings, the curtains were open, his alarm awakened him and Ana was in the kitchen. He discovered that he didn't like waking up without her beside him.

Two months or so after Ana became his housekeeper/bedbuddy, Adele's contract was up for renewal. Grey called home to say that he'd been caught up in tense, risky negotiations and would be late. Ana prepared a dinner for reheating and met Adele at the elevator. This did not go well.

Adele had not seen nor heard from Ana for over two months and almost let herself forget that Ana existed. So having Ana greeting her at the elevator was not only unexpected but infuriating.

"What the hell are you doing back here? I thought you were told to make yourself scarce on the weekends?" Adele began to rage.

Ana shrank back into herself. Her conscience was already bothering her. Grey used this woman in his playroom and then used Ana in his bed and then the very next day went back to beating this woman. And remarkably, they'd come to take it for granted. They had to talk….and soon.

But right now, Adele was over-the-top pissed at Ana just for being in the foyer. Ana tried to explain that Grey was still at Grey House and would be home as soon as possible but Adele wasn't having it.

She began screeching and accusing. Ana tried to explain that she was not a sub and no threat to Adele's position with Christian but Adele pulled a short rod out of her bag and whipped it into a four-foot-long cane with which she began to slap at Ana's legs. Then she began slapping her face with her hands, knocking her from side to side. Between the legs and the head, Ana couldn't keep her balance and fell back, striking her forehead on the foyer table.

Reynolds came running out, trying to calm Adele. She screamed at him that "the great Grey was not entitled to two subs….she would not be humiliated." Reynolds leaned down to help Ana up, yelling back at Adele that Ana was the housekeeper.

"That's just bullshit. Housekeepers are not young and pretty little things. Who do you think you're kidding!?"

Just as the temperature reached fever pitch, Grey came off the elevator to find Adele still attempting to whack Ana, Ana bleeding and Reynolds trying to grab hold of Adele's weapon.

Grey looked at Ana who appeared to be in shock and ordered Adele into his office. Only his Dom persona glowering through prevented Adele from hitting him as well. She turned on her 6 inch stilettos and marched into his study in a huff.

While Reynolds gathered a wet wash cloth and bandages, Grey held Ana's head in his hands. "Ana, can you hear me?" he asked anxiously.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I tried. I'll leave right away, Mr. Grey." Ana seemed dazed as tears fell.

"You are not going anywhere."

"If I don't go, Adele will and you need her," sobbed Ana.

Grey sat on the floor and put his arm around Ana. He gently kissed her temple. "I need you, Ana."

As Reynolds arrived with supplies, Grey told him to take care of his charge.  
"I failed her, sir," said Reynolds with sadness.

Grey patted his shoulder. "I feel the same way, Ryan. We'll just have to be more careful in the future."

Then, reluctantly leaving Ana with Reynolds, Grey marched into his office. Adele stood with her back to her Dom, a major infraction, but it didn't matter anymore. "I trust you'll remember that you signed an NDA, Adele. You may keep the wardrobe, the jewelry and the car. The lease is up on the apartment in six months so you'll have plenty of time to find a place to live or a new Dom to assume your rental responsibilities. As per our contract, you will never attempt to again contact me. If we happen to see each other some place, you will not acknowledge me. Should you violate any of the rules of the contract or NDA, I will bring hell down on your head."

"We had such a good thing going until she came along. She ruined it all."

"Why, because she made your meals, cleaned your room and took your coat at the door?" Grey snarled.

"You're not supposed to have 2 subs. You cheated on me."

"Ana is my housekeeper and you are a jealous idiot. If she chooses to press charges for assault, I will back her 100%."

"Charges? I'll tell everyone everything!"

"And I'll destroy you. Now get out!" Grey bellowed.

Reynolds took Ana to her room to rest. Grey took to his bourbon and his leather desk chair. The bourbon didn't help. He sat with his elbows on the desk and his head in his hands contemplating the mess that he had created. As he sat thinking, he realized with a jolt that he had planned to terminate the contract tonight regardless.

He and his sub would normally sit down together and discuss how things had been going between them at which point there would renegotiations. He'd probably end up buying the apartment for her, getting her a better car, buying her a piece of thank-you-for-renewing jewelry and redecorating her room. This is what the two of them expected. Neither had imagined that Grey would kick her out but now he knew that he wouldn't have renegotiated with Adele even if she hadn't turned out to be a total whack-a-bitch. He knew that the moment she lowered her eyes and asserted her desire to continue, he would have heard himself say no.

What the hell was that all about? Grey wondered. Adele was a great submissive and up until recently he counted himself very lucky to get her. He'd even gotten a nice piece of jewelry for Elena Lincoln to thank her. Three months later he wanted her gone. As he pondered this odd turn of events, there came a soft knock on the door.

"Enter."

The door slowly cracked open and Ana's little face popped round. She looked worried and contrite.

"May I come in, Mr. Grey?" she asked in a trembling voice.

He had to smile at her formality. "Ana, we've been sleeping together every night for weeks. Do you suppose that you could call me Christian?"

She smiled shyly and nodded. He indicated a chair next to his desk. As she drew closer and sat, he could see the cut and the bruising on her forehead. He gently brushed the hair back from her face and asked her how she was feeling.

"I'm all right," she assured him. "It was only a little tussle. Ms. Adele got the wrong impression and was defending her territory, I guess," she giggled… a tiny sound that produced the flutter in his chest again.

"She had no right to assault you, Ana. I dismissed her."

Ana looked disturbed. "But you liked her so much and you needed her to, hmm, get relief?"

Grey looked at Ana and placed his hand on her sweet face, tenderly caressing the bruise above her eye with his thumb.

"Ana, I have something to discuss with you."

"No, no, sir," asserted Ana, "I won't have you feeling badly about your decision. I've become a thorn in your side. You'll have to find a new submissive now and I can only hope that she is as good as Adele. You know, sir, I could go to Adele and apologize and ask her to return. I could tell her that I won't be here anymore"…..her whisper-like voice trailed off with tears filling her amazing blue eyes.

 **AN UNEXPECTED NEW BEGINNING**

"Ana, I'm very tired and I just want to go to bed and sleep with you in my arms. Would that be okay?" Christian gazed down at her.

"You don't want me to leave, sir?" Ana looked up in surprise.

"I know it's odd…what we do, I mean. Sharing a bed. I've never even asked you if you mind. Do you mind sleeping with me, Ana?" asked Christian nervously. He was fearful that she would object…finally…that maybe she thought that she was expected to sleep with the boss. Please, Ana, he thought…don't stop sleeping with me.

"Not at all, sir," replied Ana with a confident voice. "I always sleep well and I don't have bad dreams when I'm with you."

"You have bad dreams, too?" Grey was perplexed. He'd never heard nor seen any sign of these dreams.

"Yes, sir….umm, I mean, Christian. I'm just not as loud as you."

"I'm exhausted," sighed Christian as he took her hand and lead her out of the study. In his bathroom, he brushed his teeth and washed his face while Ana changed into a t-shirt. She was accustomed to sweatpants in the past as well but Christian was so warm that she couldn't tolerate the heat.

Christian turned down the bed covers while Ana performed her bedtime ablutions. Then, like an old married couple, they climbed into bed. Sometimes they spooned. Other times Ana burrowed into Christian's chest and other times he threw his arm over her chest or back.

Tonight he lay on his back and pulled Ana into his arms with her head on his chest.

"Ana," he spoke softly, "before you, I've never slept with anyone. I suppose that sounds strange."

"Well, I know you didn't want to sleep with your submissives. Have you never had an affair?" asked Ana.

"No, I've never been in love either. Elena initiated me into BDSM as a teenager and then trained me as a dom later on. I've never made love to a woman."

Ana was quiet for a while until she made a startling admission. "Neither have I."

Christian's eyes widened and his heart clenched a little with disappointment. "Oh, okay. Well, maybe one day you'll meet the right girl."

"For what?"

"Well, you know, love?"

"Oh, you thought I was a lesbian, huh?"

"You're not? Thank god." Christian let out the breath he'd been holding.

"Why are you relieved that I'm heterosexual? You know, the Amazons were lesbians who used men only to replenish their population. Still, throughout history, it was rare for authors to even take notice of lesbianism. It was considered to be less morally correct than even male homosexuality because the phallus was so prized."

She would have continued but Christian's lips had stopped hers. It was a tender, chaste kiss. She stared at him. "I'm sorry. I haven't had practice at this. Did I do it right?"

Christian smiled down at her. "Yes, your lips were there and soft and willing. So, yes, you did it right. I'd like to kiss you again. Did you like it enough to give it another chance?"

"Hmm….I guess so. I know that sometimes men like to put their tongues inside the women's mouths. I'm not so sure about that."

"Well, would you like to try it?"

Suddenly Ana sat up and looked skeptically at Christian. "If you've never made love to a woman, how do you know how to do tongue kissing?"

"Hmm….I guess I'll have to learn," he grinned.

"I'll have to read up," suggested Ana. "We could try it and then tomorrow I could google it."

Christian fell back against his pillow, grinning. "You are so adorable."

While Ana was absorbing this comment, Christian took her mouth again. He nibbled on her lips, suckled and pressed and, finally, gently inserted the tip of his tongue, brushing hers. He was so heated by now that it took every bit of restraint that he had to keep from pushing his tongue deeper into her mouth. He held the back of her head, kissed her neck and ear lobes, letting his hands wander to her breasts. God, he thought, they're so soft. How can they be so soft?

"I need to put my mouth on your breasts. May I?" he begged.

"Yes," she gasped, but he himself was having so much difficulty breathing that he didn't notice how aroused she was. Besides, she was a virgin so he figured that he was doing well to avoid repulsing her.

He sucked, nibbled, pulled her nipples with his mouth and teeth. He tried to take her entire breast into his mouth and run his tongue all around it. Then he realized that he'd better stop before his swollen dick exploded all over her.

He pulled back abruptly, surprised to find that she was close to having an orgasm. He certainly couldn't leave her hanging. He moved down her body and pushed her legs apart, then licked and suckled until Ana grabbed his hair and screamed his name. Hands down, the greatest sexual experience of his life.

At a lightening speed, he took a condom out of his nightstand, unwrapped and unrolled and entered Ana. She was still coming down from her high and so did not react to being penetrated at first but as he unthinkingly pounded into her, she said, "My god, you're too big for me." "Should I stop?" Christian asked sheepishly. After all, he'd only ever slammed into and pounded hard on his subs so he obviously didn't know how to have intercourse any other way.

"No, keep going. It feels wonderful," Ana encouraged. Which, of course, only made him explode.

He collapsed on her and then, grasping her tightly, rolled over on their sides, breathing like he'd just finished a marathon.

"Baby, baby…are you all right? I don't know what happened. I didn't mean to take you like that. I….I….." Ana stopped him with a shy kiss.

"No, you didn't rape me, Christian. I was willing," Ana spoke softly into his chest.

"I broke your hymen. I'm so sorry, Ana. I just lost my self-control. There was you and then there were your lips and your breasts and I looked up to see that you were close to the edge and I had to, wanted to go down to help you finish and, oh, god, then you came screaming my name and I had to be inside you, had to be connected to you. Can you forgive me?" He felt like a rambling teenager.

"It wasn't what I was expecting either. Still, I...I liked it. I liked it when you were inside me. I liked that a lot," Ana was blushing furiously.

"Stay. Don't move," Christian beseeched her as he went into the bathroom linen closet and pulled out a giant bath towel. When he returned, he motioned for her to stand and then he covered the bed with the towel. When he finished, he stood looking down on his work with his hands on his hips.

Then Ana giggled again and he felt his heart pound harder. "Christian, do you mind if I get naked now. You're very hot to sleep with."

"Mind? Oh, please, get naked, Ana." He, in turn, removed his bedclothes and they both lay down. He wrapped himself around her like an anaconda. She sighed and they both fell instantly into slumberland.

 **THE STORM BREWS**

"ELENA! You're not listening to me! One more time! I'm done! I'm dismantling the playroom. Please see if any other Doms would like to buy the equipment. Otherwise, it goes in the dumpster out back. ELENA! Okay, this is a waste of my time so I'm biding you goodbye and farewell. And NO, I do not have to explain a damn thing!

Ana and Reynolds sat in the kitchen. Ana had made a lunch which Grey had not yet eaten. She'd also baked a chocolate cake because that always raised Christian's endorphins. They could not help hearing the screaming from the study, of course. Ana knew that Christian's blood pressure would elevate and his heart rate rise. She realized that you could learn a lot about a person by sleeping with them. She wanted to go in and run her fingers through his hair as that seemed to always calm him, but Reynolds discouraged her.

"I'm afraid he'll have a heart attack, Rennie."

"He's been screaming like that for years, at everyone, even inanimate objects. He'll be fine.

Besides, he's screaming at the person we've all prayed he'd get out of his life and he's freeing himself finally." Ana smiled but she still had questions. "Who is Elena?"

Reynolds ahemed and then said that it was Elena who provided Grey's submissives. She knew his taste and choose women based on those tastes. She did the same for other Doms. She was like a recruiter. For more questions, Ana should really talk with Christian, Reynolds advised.

The screaming stopped but Christian was still talking. Ana couldn't help herself. She picked up a drink and a sandwich and approached the study door and knocked softly. Christian knew from the knock that it was Ana and nothing was more important than Ana. He excused himself from his talk with Elena and put the phone down. He opened the door, ushered Ana in, took the tray from her and put in on his desk and then wrapped an arm around her waist and another her shoulder so that he could put his hand in her hair while he put his lips on hers. Ana pulled back a bit and said 'tongue practice'. Grey laughed and put his mouth on hers and his tongue in her mouth. Then he pulled her tongue into his mouth. Oh, that was heaven. They stood there playing with each other's tongues for several minutes until there was loud knock on the door.

Grey pulled his mouth from Ana with a sigh and asked the knocker what they wanted. Ana said that it was probably Rennie. Grey looked at her. "Rennie?" he growled. At that point 'Rennie' walked in the door and with a grimace said, "Mrs. Lincoln got tired of waiting and is now on her way up. She was calling from her car."

Grey snarled at Reynolds and said, "what is that 'Rennie' crap?"

Reynolds smiled at Ana and said she could call him whatever she wanted and one day she just popped out with Rennie."

Grey asked Ana to go to the library while he dealt with Mrs. Lincoln.

Then Grey waited by the elevator with 'Rennie'.

"It's a little too familiar for staff…."

"Don't piss me off, boss, or I'll suggest that she call you Chrissy."

"If I fire you, there'd be the devil to pay AND she'd still call me Chrissy. You've kind of worked things out nicely for yourself, haven't you?"

"Truth, sir? I hate my nickname but I like Ana so…"

"Understood."

The elevator pinged and Elena Lincoln strode in…haughty and dominant. She pulled off her long black gloves to reveal veiny hands and long red nails. She had piles of bottle blonde hair that sat on top of her head life a puffy cloud and red lips to match her claw-like nails. She wore a black leather suit and 6 inch stilettoes. She was an intimidating sight as was her intention. She also wore a facial expression that would frighten the devil himself. It was one that used to scare the hell out of a 14-year-old boy who would do whatever she commanded.

"What the hell did you think you were doing hanging up on me, boy?!" she screeched at Christian.

Even though he was now a 28 year-old multi-billionaire, she could still intimidate Grey.

"I apologize, Elena. I put the phone down. I did not hang up on you. I should have gotten back to you sooner."

"And what the hell did you think you were doing dismissing Adele, the best sub I ever sent to you? She said that you had 2 subs and preferred the other."

"I explained to Adele, who refused to listen, that I did not have a secret 2nd sub. I have a temporary housekeeper because Gail had left to care for her sister. Adele did not believe me.

She actually attacked and injured the housekeeper so I had to let her go. Surely that is understandable."

"What a coincidence that the temp happened to be quite young and beautiful."

"Well, yes, she is but nonetheless, she was not and is not and will not be a sub. She has come to mean a lot to me and I don't want to be her Dom. Now you may not understand how someone could give up BDSM when you've been practicing it as many decades as you have but I _am_ giving it up. I am choosing to have an intimate and emotional relationship, something I never thought I was capable of or wanted until I met Ana.

"You somehow brainwashed me, when I was too young to think for myself, into believing that I was different from 'normals', that I couldn't love. You separated me from my family by insisting that if they knew what you and I were doing down in your dungeon, they'd hate me, reject me, and so we're still estranged to a great degree. I've had to hide myself from them since I was 14 because of you. I don't know how she did it but Ana brought out real feelings in me and I like it."

"Boy, I taught you everything you know. I turned you into a real man and the multi-billionaire you are today. You owe everything to me. You should be getting down on your knees and kissing my feet."

"I owe you, Elena? I owe you for being hung on the cross and being caned across my groin?"

Reynolds cringed and fled to his security room.

"I owe you for the welts on my back," Grey continued in a fury, "the endless beatings even when I screamed my safe words? I owe you for the agony of a ball gag blocking my breathing while you shoved ginger root up my ass because I displeased you in some way? I owe you for torturing me for six years and then turning me into an asshole who in turn tortured women?"

"Every sub you've ever had fell in love with you and told me that you were the best Dom they'd ever had. They weren't tortured," contested Elena. "And the techniques I used on you were what helped you to learn discipline and how to control your emotions!"

"I have returned your 'generosity' a thousand times over, Elena. Every month when you come to me demanding money to keep your salons afloat, I write the check. And don't think that I don't know that you've been embezzling from me for years. But that ends now. Here is our new deal. I keep my shares in the salon but you can keep all the profits provided you stay away from me and my mine. Do you understand? The minute you make threats, I sell my shares and you find yourself without an income. If any harm of any kind comes to anyone I care about, you can have the pope vouch for you and I'll still know it was all you. Then I'll destroy you six ways from Sunday.

I'll have my legal team drop by the Bravern Center salon as soon as possible to carefully explain our new arrangement and have papers signed.

I am ending all contact between us. I don't want to control my emotions anymore. I want to feel everything. I want to love a woman….not whip her."

"You damned fool! You'd destroy me? Without me you'd have ruined yourself and your life. You were heading for jail until I saved you. I gave you GEH and with all I know about you and your secret life, I can bring you to your knees, boy!" shrieked Elena.

There was a crash from the top of the steps as Ana dropped her glass. She had heard everything. She walked calmly down the stairs but there was a look on her face that was frightening. She was half a foot shorter than Elena but the rage within her made her more than Elena's equal. She hadn't felt such fury since that last night in her apartment when she tore the place to pieces. Now she had a new target.

She approached Elena and backhanded her so hard across her face that Elena fell to her knees. As Christian gaped at his gentle love, she grabbed a huge pile of Elena's hair. It came off in her hand. So she grabbed what was left and dragged her over to the elevator and literally tossed Elena into the car. She held the door open and looked down at the shocked and furious face of the she-devil.

"If you ever again approach Mr. Grey, if you ever again attempt to contact him in any way, directly or indirectly, I will come for you! Tell me that you understand what I am saying!"

Elena lay on the car floor, trembling and nodding vigorously in agreement.

"Yes," Elena said in an almost inaudible voice.

Then Ana removed her hand and allowed the doors to close as she tossed Elena's fake hair into the car with her.

For a few moments, Christian and Ana didn't move. Ana was shaking. Approaching her slowly, like you would a wounded animal, Christian whispered gently and wrapped his arms around her. Her violent trembling increased and her breathing became more labored. She struggled in his arms as if she were unaware of her surroundings. She tried to push away but Christian only held her tighter, murmuring to her, pressing her to his chest.

Suddenly she slumped in his arms. He picked her up, cradling her and singing softly to her until she finally began to weep quietly. He carried her into the bedroom and laid down with her. It was some time until she calmed enough to ease his concern. Finally, she slept from the exhaustion of her rage. Gently, Christian undressed her and then himself. He held her close and told her that he loved her even though' she couldn't hear him. Then, he lay there, knowing that Elena would not let go so easily and that Ana was a target now. He was afraid.

.+.

Ana was reaching for him with both arms outstretched, desperate. He couldn't hear her but the look of fear on her face chilled his soul. He kept trying to get to her but behind her a woman, smiling wickedly, was stronger, pulling Ana away. She began to fade into a white mist and he wasn't able to see her clearly anymore. Her face was no longer fearful; it was sad and disappointed. He screamed her name to no avail. He felt a terror and loss too great to endure.

His eyes snapped open. He was soaked in sweat. Ana was gone. He jumped up and ran into the bathroom. The light was on but the room was empty. As he made for the bedroom door, he felt a breeze and first noticed that the balcony door was open. No, no, he thought. She wouldn't do that. He walked out into a light drizzle and found Ana curled into the far corner, blocked by the drapes, hugging her knees and burying her face.

He went to her and asked her to reach up and put her arms around his neck. She didn't seem to hear him at first but after a moment she did as requested. He picked her up, noting that she was soaked and shivering. He carried her into the bathroom and held her under a warm shower. Carefully, soothingly, he bathed her with a soft sponge and then washed her hair.

He was startled when she laughed, noting that her daddy once washed her hair over the kitchen sink and it felt so good. She'd asked him to do it again but he told her that she was too big and should take care of herself. She didn't know why but the way he said it made her feel dirty and selfish. She was so sad because no one else had ever washed her hair and she always took care of herself.

"I love you, Christian."

"I love you, Ana."

Then he carefully dried her thick locks and took her back to bed. It was just after 3 am. "Don't get out of bed again, okay?" he asked her. "It's hard to wake up and find you gone."

"Okay, I'll just pee in the bed," she giggled.

"Deal," he smiled.

He enveloped her in his arms, smoothing her hair and kissing her head. He'd wash her hair the rest of her life if that's what she wanted. In the morning, he'd take her out on the boat. A day on the Sound would lighten both their hearts and, barring Elena sending a deadly drone, they'd be safe. He reached for his phone and texted 'Rennie'.

 **Get as many security as you need to do a thorough sweep of the Grace and the surrounding dock area**

 **before 10 am. Also, I assume that you already have coverts all over Elena and will be installing a tracking device in her vehicle and cameras in her home asap. Don't take anything for granted. Get with Taylor and start thinking. Can't allow her to be an ongoing threat.**

He put the phone down and looked down at the woman sleeping with her head on his chest. He knew now that he was in love with her but it just suddenly struck him that it was so much more than that. His sanity, his ability to handle life, were dependent on Ana. He simply couldn't make it through anymore without her by his side. He'd never before in life had felt that way about anyone or anything. He might have thought it once about his family, his business success, his wealth, his own determination and strength but now he saw how wrong he'd been. They were all important but could not sustain him. Since that first night he'd slept with her, it would always be Ana.

Suddenly his phone blinked. It was a text from Reynolds.

 **It's 4 am. What would you assume that I'm awake and on the job?**

Because I pay you a ridiculous amount of money.

 **True…but we may have to discuss paying me an even more ridiculous amount of money since I now have two bosses to protect. And one of them is a loose cannon.**

 **Taylor sends his regards and has idea of how to deal with an active threat. However, I'm**

 **pretty sure it wouldn't be legal. These ex-military men all have one solution for every problem….**

 **blow it up.**

 **Detail is already heading for boat.**

 **THE PEACE OF WATER**

"Honey, we can get a lunch at the restaurant next to the marina. And if you keep making me chocolate cake, I'm going to have to start putting in more time in the gym, time I'd prefer to spend with you."

Ana giggled as she danced in the kitchen to Beyoncé'. She was bouncing around so much it was a wonder she could work. "I haven't been on the water in several years. I am so excited, Christian. It was such a lovely idea of yours. Thank you."

Christian came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist while she sliced tomatoes for the subs.

"Do you want iceberg or romaine on your sub?"

"Sub? Singular? How about iceberg and turkey on one, romaine and chicken on the other?"

"These are both for you, right? No sharing?" laughed Ana.

"That's right," Grey said, as he nuzzled into her neck. "No sharing."

"Okay, all yours, all yours," Ana sighed contently.

A warm breeze, the sun shining, the boat bobbing gently on the water, making love to Ana. A perfect afternoon. Christian sighed, leaning on one elbow, studying Ana….her creamy complexion, her long lashes, her mouth open just a bit, her silky hair splayed out over her pillow. He slowly stroked her arm, kissed her head. The love he feels for this woman flows over and around him and in him. He feels overwhelmed but in a good way….floating in a sea of blue like Ana's eyes, drowning in her love for him.

Watching her light up as she wandered to and fro on the Grace noticing details of the water and the shoreline and the hills rising up out of the water made his heart swell. She oohed and aahed and even clapped her hands when a fish jumped out of the water. He'd made her so happy with just a day on the Sound. She was so excited that several times she just ran over to him to hug him or to nuzzle her face into his chest. He wanted to take her below and make love again but that was selfish, he thought. She was having so much fun.

He recalled all the sex he'd had, dozens of women, hundreds of fucks. All the years he thought he had it real good having any and all the women he wanted….women who wanted to do his bidding. Only they never really wanted _him_. They wanted the jewelry, the cars, the apartments, the educations and, mostly, their own pleasure. Not a one of them wanted just him. Even the ones who thought they loved him would have walked away if he lost all the money, if he lost his looks. But Ana, she never gave any of it a thought. She wanted him. It awed him when he looked at the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, the sweetest woman he'd ever known, and realized that she wanted him, loved him only.

He was a louse who'd spent his life feeling self-pity because his crack-whore mother didn't take care of him so as soon as he had a chance, he became a dom who could beat her look-a-likes in retaliation. He loathed himself so that he could be a submissive to a she-devil and now Elena was a threat to his everything. He was so ungrateful that he treasured the reward fucks he was allowed to give Elena more than he treasured the family that loved him and gave him a good life.

Thinking about all that, he didn't understand how Ana saw any good in him but she did. She told him that she loved him because he was such a good man, took care of her and loved her so well. Well, at least the 2nd two reasons were real. But, he thought, he wasn't a good man. He was a terrified, cowardly man since he'd met Ana. No matter his happiness, inside him dwelled a man living in fear of losing that happiness, losing Ana. He couldn't foresee a time when he'd feel calm and relaxed, when he'd believe that she was real and his. So, he tried to live in the moment, to appreciate what he had while he had it. He tried.

He didn't know that Ana was experiencing similar fears. He said that he loved her but how was that possible? She was dull, plain, uneducated, poor. He told her that she was beautiful and fascinating to him but she thought that he was just being nice. However, the room upstairs was now just another bedroom, with blue walls and crème carpet. Christian had decided to move the library downstairs to what had been Ana's bedroom so that it would be close at hand for her. She seemed to have two main activities, besides making him happy. She read voraciously and everyday she had 'Rennnie' drive her to her old building where she checked in on Mrs. Hirsch and several other elderly people who depended on her for meals and medication and transportation to doctor appointments.

It had taken Christian a while but he finally figured out that Ana had from the beginning been packing her breakfast and lunch to take to Mrs. Hirsch and the others. He'd wondered why she was so thin and sometimes light-headed. When he confronted her and she explained that she was being pragmatic, he was dumbfounded.

"Ana, if you wanted to deliver food to your friends, why didn't you just buy what you wanted at the grocery store?"

"The food I buy is for you and paid for by you. To take it for my friends would be like stealing. I'm young so I can tolerate hunger while for them, a meal could be the difference between life and death. It's what I've always done. The only person who can afford food is Mr. Pearson and he's too frail to be climbing the stairs and carrying groceries. Mrs. Hirsch has always been poor and gets barely enough social security to pay her rent. "

Christian just gaped at her. In a way, Ana was right. It was pragmatic. She was trading on her youth to keep others alive, others who couldn't survive skipping a meal. It took some convincing but finally Ana allowed him to have meals delivered daily to all her 'charges' at the old building and to let him see to their other needs. He'd finally convinced her to give up her apartment and that certainly took some doing. She truly expected that any day he'd dismiss her, rebuild his playroom and go back to what he'd always known. Besides, Gail's sister was getting better. The chemo had worked and Gail would be coming home. Taylor was downright giddy and Ana never let on that she was sad to be leaving. Even though she was still keeping house for him, Christian referred to her as his girlfriend.

To Grey, Ana would go on living with him. There was no question of this. That she would consider her job to be done and would leave had never occurred to him. As Gail's return loomed closer, Ana seemed to grow quieter and sad. He tried to figure it out but she wouldn't tell him why. At night, she clung to him in bed and sometimes he'd wake up to hear her crying on the balcony but she'd just say that she loved him. He couldn't figure out why loving him made her cry. Rennie was also at a loss. He'd find her sitting on the 'staff' stairs, the door propped open with a soup can, weeping….but she wouldn't talk to him either.

Her mood seemed to change suddenly 2 days before Gail's return. She made certain that the pantry and fridge were fully stocked. She made and froze casseroles and various salads and desserts so that Gail would have time to settle back in. She cleaned every room repeatedly. She even scrubbed down the elevator car. The night before Taylor would be returning with Gail she seemed serenely calm as if she'd made peace with something. She made love to Christian with a passion and intensity as if she'd never have another chance. In the morning, a Saturday, he awoke to a room darkened by curtains as usual but Ana wasn't in bed with him. He figured that she was making

On the breakfast bar was a note saying that pancakes, eggs and bacon were in the warmer and fresh-squeezed orange juice was in the fridge. It also said that Grey shouldn't worry about her. As soon as she found a new place, she'd let him know where to send her final paycheck.

Paycheck? He hadn't paid her, per se, since they'd become lovers. He just made sure that there was always money in her account.

She went on to say that being with Grey had been the best time of her life and that she would miss both him and Rennie. She hoped that she hadn't messed up Gail's 'system' too much and to say welcome home for her.

Grey hollered for Reynolds who'd just gotten in. It had been his night off.

"Where is Ana?"

Reynolds ran into the security room to find Sawyer just waking up. The monitors showed that Ana had walked out at dawn, carrying her little suitcase. She'd taken only her few bits of clothing and left everything that Grey had bought her. Street CCTV showed her walking south on the avenue. It was miles back to her old building but they presumed that that was where she was going.

"Get the car," Grey commanded. While heading down to the garage, he called Welch and asked him to track Ana through all the city cameras. They rolled south, watching side streets and even windows of little cafes until Welch called to say that he'd found Ana on a bus bench 2 miles south of their location.

She was sitting, holding her suitcase on her lap, her head resting on it as she slept.

Grey jumped out of the car, worried but then reassured that she was just sleeping. She hadn't been sleeping the last few days, had risen at dawn and then walked miles. Grey handed off the suitcase to Reynolds and then gently picked Ana up and carried her to the car, cradling her in his arms as Reynolds drove them back to Escala.

 **GAIL COMES HOME!**

Gail entered the penthouse with Taylor as Grey came out of the bedroom, having put Ana back to bed.

"Gail, welcome home! You've been missed and Taylor's been a real pain in the hinny without his wife here. I swear, if I had to hear one more time how I had no right to complain about you being gone 'cause he was missing a wife…he was going to need a bodyguard. His driving was so distracted, more so each day, that I was going to start taking Uber before he got me killed. I was actually hoping for an active threat to keep him busy."

Gail laughed and hugged her man.

"It's been a really tough time, worrying about my sister and missing my husband and worrying about you. Jason said that you did find a temp, however. How did that go?"

Taylor laughed and called Gail's attention to the stuffed pantry and fridge. "Ana didn't want you to be overwhelmed with chores when you returned. The laundry is done, sheets are changed and the entire place dusted to the bone."

"Well, where is she? I'd like to meet her. Tell me about her," demanded Gail. "Truth to tell, I'm a little jealous that I was replaceable."

"This is your domain, as it has always been," smiled Grey. "In fact, Ana tried to sneak out at dawn so as not to be here and in your face when you came home. We had to hunt her down."

"Well, where is she now?" asked Gail.

"I put her back to bed. She hasn't been sleeping well lately and she walked several miles this morning. I've finally figured out that she thought she'd have to leave when you returned. She's been acting strangely for a week and we couldn't understand it."

"Well, Jason told me that she's become more than a housekeeper…that, in fact, there have been some pretty dramatic changes around here. Did she really throw Mrs. Lincoln out of the house?" Gail's eyes were big as saucers. "I must see those tapes."

"It was pretty traumatic for Ana so please don't mention viewing them…but, yes, big changes. I no longer have a sub. I have a girlfriend. I no longer have a playroom. I have an extra guestroom. We moved the library down into the spare room next to our bedroom."

Gail blinked at the words ' _our_ bedroom'.

"In fact, I'm exhausted so I'm going back to bed for awhile. I'm sure that you would like to rest up after your trip. Don't worry about meals. We'll just thaw one of the 1,000 or so casseroles Ana has in the freezer. It's really good to have you back, Gail." With that, Grey turned to head for the bedroom he'd referred to as 'ours'.

Ana was asleep but restless. It was apparent that she was having a bad dream as she thrashed about. Grey stripped and crawled into bed with his girl. He pulled her into his arms and held her close and still until she relaxed. There were tears on her face. He gently rubbed her back and whispered to her that she was safe and loved and home. She sighed, as if she'd heard him. Once he knew that she was better, he was able to relax as well and fall to sleep.

 **S**

Gail was amazed at the changes in the penthouse and in Grey. She'd left an angry, sour man who rarely smiled, who was either at the office or in his study, who was always working. Now he walked off the elevator every day promptly at 5:15. He'd drop his briefcase just in time to catch Ana as she ran to him and jumped into his arms. He'd whirl her around and they'd kiss and beam at each other. Still holding onto Ana, Grey would greet Gail and ask her about dinner and her day. She'd tell him 30 minutes and then he'd disappear into the bedroom with Ana. When they emerged, Ana's hair would be tousled and her face flushed while Grey had his nose buried in her neck. Gail decided to mention to Jason that the room needed some renovation…as in soundproofing.

Ana was quite shy and took some time getting comfortable with Gail but once she did, she was rather a chatterbox. She was curious about everything and asked Gail a lot of questions about herself. Gail was generally a private person but something about Ana's innocence made it easy to share personal information. Ana didn't pry. She cared. Gail had never met anyone like her. She wanted to help with everything and anything. She liked Gail's company.

Sharing about herself was a little more difficult. There was pain behind those big eyes, pain that Ana tried to hide with nonchalance. She didn't want sympathy and certainly not pity. Her parents were both deceased and Ana had been on her own since she was 16. After her father's funeral, an aunt she didn't know claimed the house and tried to turn Ana over to the foster system so Ana left. Working odd jobs, she found her way to Seattle. The owners of the little coffee shop she had worked in didn't ask questions and paid her in cash and tips. She found her tiny studio apartment and met her neighbors who all needed help. She knew it was where she was meant to be, to help these people who were at the end of their ropes. She bragged on and on about all that Christian was doing to help them. She was so proud of his kindness. Aside from the employees at the coffee shop, Ana knew no one else. Until the day she broke her glasses, she had hidden from the scrutiny of others.

One day as Gail told her about her sister and her nieces and nephews, a single tear fell from Ana's eye. Ana herself did not look sad and didn't seem to notice the tear but Gail reached over the counter and brushed it from Ana' cheek. Then she took Ana's small hand and told her that she had found a home and a family at the penthouse. Ana smiled but seemed doubtful.

"You are so kind to me, Gail," Ana whispered.

"But you don't believe me, do you?" sighed Gail. "You expect all this to suddenly be over one day. You're used to loss and you lack faith in yourself. You don't think yourself worthy of love and loyalty, do you?"

"Things change. People change," sighed Ana. "One has to be prepared, to not get too attached."

"You think that Mr. Grey will grow tired of you, that he will want his playroom and his subs back, don't you?"

Ana nodded. She seemed resigned. "I've loved people. They're all gone now. I've learned that there is no sense in having expectations. There is certainly no sense in thinking that if you love, you will be loved in return. Christian wants me now and I will be happy with that and happy that I had that when it's gone.

Gail started to say something but knew that she couldn't make promises. Ana had been disappointed so much that she had adjusted to it. Right now she was happy with Christian and only time would teach her that some things don't change.

 **THE OFFICE**

The meeting was dragging on and it was nearly 5 p.m. "Does anyone have anything new to say?" growled Grey. Ros glared at him and he knew he was being an ass….but really, the meeting was getting repetitious. "Okay," Ros grimaced, "perhaps Mr. Grey is correct. We have been merely reinforcing each other's opinions for a while so you'll all get a summary and if you have anything to had, please let me know. Have a good night."

As everyone left the room, Grey pulled on his jacket and adjusted his tie, picked up his briefcase and made ready to leave as well….except that a tiny black lady stood in front of the door with a scowl on her face. Grey knew to pay attention when Ros looked at him that way.

Sighing, he put his briefcase down and looked at his #2 expectedly.

"Where is your head these days?"

"What do you mean? That meeting was over 30 minutes ago or should have been if everyone didn't like the sound of their own voices so much," Grey snarled.

"It isn't just this meeting, Christian. For months, you have become increasingly….um…not you. You don't yell at people. Negotiations are calm and pleasant." She clearly found the new Grey strange and unsettling.

"For 9 years, since I met you at Harvard and we clicked, playing mock acquisitions together and then a year later began seriously considering this as a career, you have been a hard driving, unyielding, proper son-of-a-bitch. I've sat in meetings holding back laughs and cheers as you turned competitors to ash. Andrea misses the way that haughty men twice your age would leave your office wilted and winded. But now, I don't feel like I know you anymore and….and…well, I miss you and our connection," she said sadly

"Come, sit, Ros."

"Andrea," he yelled. She came running in, anticipating a bit of familiar fury but Grey only indicated that she also should take a seat.

"Ros has pointed out to me, Andrea, that you are both finding the changes in me disturbing. I guess I hadn't thought about it much and certainly hadn't realized that the two employees closest to me every day would have gotten so used to my bad behavior that my good behavior would bother you."

"It's such a change over these last few months that we didn't understand and missed you, understanding you, that is. I mean, said Andrea, suppose I started swearing and complaining…wouldn't you be perplexed and maybe miss the old me?"

"You both know," said Grey, "that I'm not one for sharing details about my personal life or thinking that I need to explain myself to you no matter what I do. However, you both make good points and I want you both to go on feeling at ease with my behavior. So, to be blunt, I have met a girl and I have fallen in love."

Ros and Andrea together gaped at Grey. In all their years together they'd never seen Grey with a female in a non-business context. It had been so long that they'd even stopped wondering about why he didn't seem interested in women. Together they demanded that he bring her to the office. He laughed. Once upon a time if they'd demanded anything, he'd swiftly remind them that he was the boss.

"She is quite shy. I don't know if she'd want to come here."

"Well, tell her to meet you here so you could take her to lunch," suggested Ros.

"Yeah, you could take her to that new bistro around the corner," offered Andrea.

"Taylor could bring her up here because you got delayed and needed her to wait a few minutes. Andrea and I could sit and talk with her, keep her company," pushed Ros.

"I'm not going to have you interrogating my girl!"

"We'll be nice and non-intrusive. Andrea will be sitting at her station and I will be waiting to have a word with you before you leave. That sounds good, doesn't it? You could even watch through your monitor and if she seemed uncomfortable, you could come to the rescue. Come on, Grey, be a mensch," begged Ros.

"A mensch, eh? All right. I'll think about it. That's all I'm promising, tho'," grinned Grey.

"Maybe you could also think about cussing out a few people and crushing that guy who is coming in tomorrow to fight with you about the take-over?" said Andrea. "He's very rude and I'd like to see him crawl away."

"You don't think I should kill him with kindness, Andrea?" teased Grey. "Okay, I'll splatter his brains all over the office…just for you."

"Now, see," moaned Ros, "you're being nice again. I have to meet this miracle worker and I swear, Grey, if she doesn't show up here, I'll drop by Escala with papers for you to sign."

Grey picked up his briefcase, noted the time and made to rush out the door, turning around to caution Ros and Andrea that there was to be no gossip about this talk.

Grey rushed into the garage and told Taylor to 'step on it, run some reds.'

"No, sir," replied Taylor.

"Don't I pay you to do what I say?" snarled an impatient Grey.

"Not when what you say is liable to get you killed. Sir." smiled Taylor. "We're only a little later than usual. Try to calm down before you scare Ana. You know how easily she picks up on your moods. If you're agitated, she'll get worried."

"I hate you when you're right."

"Must be an ongoing loathing then."

"What's happening with Elena?"

"She's been acting like nothing is wrong. Your attorneys visited her and signed over the salons. Welch figures that the way she manages them and the fact that all the money goes into her Cayman accounts and not back into the salons means she won't be able to hold onto them much longer. Also, her home has two mortgages on it, neither of which she's paid this month since you didn't write her a check. We're hoping that she defaults on the loans, sells everything and moves to the south of France where she can live off her secret accounts."

"Sounds prudent. The odds?" asked Grey.

"Now that she's lost her control of the prince of Seattle, her position in society _and_ your girlfriend has humiliated her, there are no odds. We have tracks on her vehicle, cameras and audio in her salons, cameras in her house, coverts crawling all over her but she is cunning, vicious and vengeful. She probably has a huge collection of burner phones hidden away which she could use to call on her henchmen to do her dirty work.

"Poor Rennie about has a heart attack every time Ana skips over to the elevator for an afternoon in the park. We have coverts all over her and she's never noticed. She plays with the kids, running all over…by the time Rennie gets home, he's so worn out that we have to relieve him for a couple of hours to rest.

"I know you don't want to hear it but there is only one way to permanently defuse the situation."

"No, Taylor, we are not going to kill Elena. I can't have that on my conscience."

"I don't mind it on mine, sir. You know, Mrs. Lincoln will never give up trying to get even. Neither you nor Ana will ever be safe as long as Lincoln is breathing."

Grey stared out the window. Taylor was right, of course. Even if they got her sent to prison for any number of crimes, she'd find a way to strike out at them. He could try to bribe her but she'd only spend her time and the money to think up ways to hurt them without it coming back to her. Christ, if only he hadn't been such a stupid, horny, thoughtless teenager. He brought this hell down on all of them. He put his face in his hands. He had to protect Ana…both from Elena and from what she'd do to Elena to protect him.

 **HOME**

"Christian!" Ana squealed as he stepped off the elevator. He scarcely had time to drop his briefcase before she flew at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She was so light, it always caused him a moment of unease before a tsunami of joy washed over him. God, she was a wonder of love and she was his. He laughed with delight even as he smashed his lips into hers. He held her so tightly yet she never complained that she couldn't breathe. Finally, he fell onto the couch….the new, soft couch that replaced the hard, white leather one with its chrome legs and arms….Elena's house warming gift. As he embraced her, the kitten she'd named Emmie jumped up to join the cuddle. Grey had never had a pet as a child due to Elliot's allergies and he'd never missed having one either….but Emmie had snuggled her way into his heart just like Ana.

Sometimes he'd realize that Emmie was sitting on his shoulder as he sat in his study or on his piano bench. He had to remember to close the keyboard at night or they'd all shoot awake as Emmie jumped up and down on the keys. He'd had to enclose the great room balcony to avoid Emmie jumping up to perch precariously on the slim edge of the glass railing. Also, to keep Ana from falling off the side of the building when she decided that the outside of the railing needed washing.

"So, what did you do today?" Ana beamed at him.

"Bought and sold companies. Stared at your pictures on my desk and laptop. Ate a lonely lunch. Why don't you come to the shop tomorrow and let me take you out for lunch?" Grey watched Ana hesitate.

"What's wrong? I've seen you eat. It isn't too disgusting," he chuckled as she punched his arm.

"What would I wear? I don't know how to dress for lunch with sharp-looking executives," she smiled but he knew that she really didn't feel confident about wardrobe choices.

"Your side of the closet is filled with things you never wear. Gail can help you choose something."

"Oh, yes, that would be fun!" enthused Gail.

Ana looked thoughtful. "I'll have to practice with the shoes tonight or I'll break an ankle," she frowned.

"Shoes?" puzzled Grey.

"Yes. Women wear high heels and you've stuffed my side of the closet with that brand you like…Loubetons, Loubins?"

"Louboutin's. Your legs would look fantastic in those," grinned Grey, imagining them wrapped about his back while they made love.

"I've never understood why women want to walk around on their tippy toes or how they don't fall over face forward," remarked Ana.

"Hmmm…. Gail, tell her why," said Grey, anticipating something like how good their legs look.

"Women put themselves through the agony of stilettoes to please men, dear," as Grey gave her a look that said 'traitor'.

Ana looked at Christian. "You could wear ballet flats?" he suggested without enthusiasm. While both women stared at him and even Emmie sat on his lap looking up at him, he decided that he'd better change the subject to dinner.

The rest of the night he watched in mild terror as Ana walked in endless circles around the 10,000 square feet of the penthouse, attempting to become adept at gliding along in 5 inch heels. It did not come naturally to her and Christian found himself trying to follow behind her inconspicuously in order to catch her when she fell. Gail gave her a pair of broom handles which helped but every time she twisted or slipped, Grey broke out in a cold sweat, fearing that Ana would break or even just twist her ankle and she would be in pain. He tried to get her to give it up but she was determined to have long, sexy legs and make him proud of her. He was surrounded by beautiful women. She didn't want him to be embarrassed. He instinctively knew this and hated himself for putting her in this position but she was going to make him proud if it cost her a leg.

She and Gail went through the closet. Grey had made the mistake of leaving the price tags on the clothes that Caroline Acton sent over from Neiman's. Ana was appalled. He sat on the couch watching Ana totter back and forth berating him for his profligate spending. By the time the night was over, they were both so exhausted, they just fell into bed and went right to sleep.

Around 2 a.m. Christian awoke suddenly to realize that he was alone and Ana's side of the bed was cold. He felt his gut twist with fear. She'd left him. She thought that he was trying to change her and she thought that he didn't want her the way she was. She was always insecure, comparing herself to the stunning Adele and all the beautiful women he probably knew and now he'd tried to fix her, unsuccessfully. Oh, lord, she was out on the street in the dead of night. Anything could happen to her. He grabbed his phone to call security when he heard a thud.

He found Ana in her robe and high heels sitting on the great room floor. She had started to cry.

"Oh, my baby, are you hurt?" he sat down with her and enveloped her in his arms.

"Just my bum."

"It's after 2. What are you doing?" said Grey as he kissed her head.

"Practicing. I don't think that I'm getting any better, Christian. I'm so ashamed. I don't want to embarrass you in front of other people. I'm so sorry," she sobbed into his chest.

"Tell me what you're thinking, Ana. The truth now, please," urged Christian who thought there was more here than he knew.

Ana hesitated. Then the words came tumbling out, a jumble of an explanation but Christian finally understood.

"Okay. I think I got it. You think that I'm getting bored with you, right?" Ana nodded. "You think that I'm trying to make you 'better' to delay the inevitable day that I'm done with you, right?" Ana sniffled. "You hope that by learning to walk in high heels and wear expensive dresses you'll impress me enough to keep you for a while longer but that soon I'll want my playroom back and I'll want you to be my sub? Ana looked up at him, eyes wide and trusting.

"I'll do that for you, Christian. I just want to make you happy for as long as I'm allowed. I trust you completely and I know that you wouldn't really hurt me. Is that what you want?" In the dim light her eyes shown brilliant blue.

"Ana, sometimes I wake suddenly at night, like I used to with nightmares, but now it's because you've moved a bit and I'm not holding you. For a second, fear takes over until I realize that you're still in the bed with me. I can't sleep anymore without you in my arms. When I woke up and you were gone, I was so scared that you'd left. Does that sound like a man who is bored?

"You think that you're plain…. so why do I and everyone else gasp when you walk into a room? When you're nearby, I can't concentrate on anything else. Everything you do charms me. As for high heels and dresses, I don't care about those either. I'm surrounded all day long by tall, elegant, immaculately dressed blondes….same old, same old. Yes, I notice that they're lovely in an objective way but not a one of them has ever stopped me in my tracks to stare the way you do when you walk across a room. I have never wanted to tackle one of them just so we could roll around on the floor together, Christian laughed.

"I don't want you to change. I want Ana. In the morning, I'll have all the dresses and Louboutin's returned. At noon, you put on your t-shirt and jeans and sneakers and we'll go to lunch. I'll walk into that bistro with the most beautiful woman in the room, snarl because other men are staring at my girl and then I'll try to get you to eat an entire meal.

"And one more thing, Ana. For god's sake, believe me when I say that I can't live anymore without you. I don't remember a time when you weren't with me. You're my whole world. Everything revolves around you. I'm so in love I just stare at my phone screensaver and Taylor has to make sure that I don't walk into lamp posts. All I want is for you to love me back."

Ana threw her arms around his waist and nuzzled into his chest.

"And all I want is for you to love me back."

"Okay, we're on the same page then, right?" asked Christian.

"Take me back to bed, Christian," commanded Ana and he obeyed.

They made love, tried to sleep, had to make more love. It was never enough. He needed to watch her arch her back and scream his name. He needed to be inside her and it was never deep enough. She needed to see him come apart when she took him into her mouth and, yes, most of all, for both of them, was the overwhelming need to be connected.

 **LUNCH**

Ana was due around noon and Ros and Andrea were like cats on a hot tin roof. Andrea was afraid to leave her post for the restroom and Ros kept finding reasons to check in with Grey. He told them repeatedly that Ana would arrive at noon but they were afraid that she would hide out in his office. Finally, they simply posted themselves at Andrea's desk and waited.

The elevator doors opened. But it was Taylor who entered the 30th floor. He strode stiff and grim-faced past Ros and Andrea. He didn't stop to be announced but walked straight through into Grey's office. A minute later Grey ran out, into the elevator and was gone without a word. Ros looked at Andrea. They knew it had to be bad.

"This is my fault, Taylor."

"No, sir." Taylor replied.

"I should have just moved them all out of that dump."

"We've been through this, sir. It was home to them. They wouldn't go. If Ana couldn't convince them, what more could you have done? That furnace was just two weeks old. We'd agreed to forego alarms…for good reason. They would have been terrified and unable to do anything about it. Even Mr. Pearson wasn't ambulatory enough to move fast to get out…and it was night. They were all asleep. Sir, it was actually a good thing. They died peacefully in their own beds, in their own homes. Isn't that what we all want?"

"How is she…. really?

"As I told you, after the EMTs assured me that she was going to be fine, I left immediately for Grey House. She was frantic. She wanted you but she didn't want you to drive. Her emotional state is your problem. She's a mess. I don't think she heard a word I said."

Grey ran through the emergency entrance and looked around distraught. A nurse hurried to him, batted her eyes and, in a seductive voice, offered to help the gentlemen. Grey used his advantage to get her to let him into see his "sister", Ana Steele. He found her lying still on a bed in an outpatient ward. The nurse explained that Ana was so 'cray-cray' when they brought her in that she'd had to be sedated but she shriveled when Grey glared at her and her tone became obsequious. She soon hurried off to get a doctor.

Grey sat down and took Ana's hands. They were like ice. He looked around for a blanket and seeing none, went off on the doctor who'd just wandered in, looking nonchalant and too at ease for Grey's liking.

"She's cold! Get her a blanket!" he yelled at the doctor who seemed surprised but undisturbed by Grey's outburst.

"Well, let's take a look first at her chart and then we'll get an orderly, shall we?" he smiled.

A few minutes later the doctor found himself returning from the linen closet with two blankets and a very chastised expression. After Ana was covered and Grey had wrapped his hands around her blanketed one, the doctor coughed and proceeded.

"Your sister was brought in in a state of hysteria. Blood pressure quite elevated and climbing, heart rate also too fast. She was in danger of stroking out so we administered a light sedative which should wear off in an hour. The treatment worked. She stabilized. However, we'll have to see how she does when she awakens and is once again confronted with the news that upset her in the first place. As I understand it, she arrived to visit friends and found all of them deceased….having died in their sleep of carbon monoxide poisoning. Ms. Steele was followed into the building by a friend who felt a headache and nausea coming on suddenly. He ascertained the problem and went to find your sister who had already collapsed in the apartment of a Mrs. Hirsch. He was able to get her out of the building, found she wasn't breathing and administered CPR. He called the fire department on his way here.

"He told me that your sister had several elderly friends in the building, all of whom he presumed were now deceased. The fire department confirmed that all had died in the night. Meanwhile, your sister had revived and, as I said, became overwhelmingly distraught. I am very sorry for her loss and concerned for her emotional well-being. I would like to call one of our psychologists to come talk with her."

"Thank you, doctor. I already have someone in mind," replied Grey, "and thank you for your help."

Then Grey turned back to Ana, signaling the doctor to leave them. As soon as the doctor had left, Christian eased himself into the bed and Ana into his arms.

He then called John Flynn, his long-time psychologist. He was surprised when Flynn himself picked up.

"Can't you afford a receptionist since I've stopped needing you so often," he kidded.

"It's lunchtime. Delores is out and _I_ was trying to get in a power nap," snapped Flynn. "Don't tell me. Ana left you."

"That isn't funny, John," growled Grey.

"I wasn't trying to be funny. I was concerned. Even though I still have one kid to put through college and Rhian wants a pool, I'd prefer that you have Ana. So, what's up?"

"It's Ana who is going to need you. I've told you already that she is emotionally fragile in some ways. Well, she got hit this morning with the mother of all traumas. You probably heard the news about the building full of elderly that had a furnace with a cracked heat exchanger. Damn, John, I put in that new furnace less than two weeks ago."

"Oh, my god. _That_ was Ana's building? Lord."

"She would have died in there herself if Taylor hadn't carried her out and given her CPR."

"Give that man a raise."

"I'd like to but he'd consider it an insult to be paid for saving someone dear to him. Anyway, Ana is currently sedated. When she wakes, her world is going to crash in on her again. Her bp and heart rate were both through the roof when Taylor brought her in and only went down with the sedation. I need you to talk her off the ledge.

She'll be waking in about an hour, they said."

"As soon as Delores gets back, I'll have all my appointments moved around and I'll come over to the hospital. How are you, by the way?"

"Shaken but mostly worried. John, I updated the electrical and plumbing in that old wreck so it would be safe for those people to stay. I worried about structure but it never occurred to me that a brand new furnace would fail. I let her down, John."

"NO! I'll be there as soon as I can, Christian."

 **AFTERMATH**

For days Ana sat on the library window seat, simply staring out into space. She clung to Christian more than ever. What little confidence she had been able to build since meeting Christian seemed to diminish daily. Her nightmares increased and even came during naps. Flynn came by every day to see Ana but she had such a hard time communicating. Only alone with Christian, making love, did Ana seem happy. Christian made all the arrangements for the funerals and held Ana up through all of them. Each successive service seemed to weaken Ana more.

Flynn suggested to Christian that Ana might benefit from a stay in a resthome but Grey told him absolutely not! Neither of them, Christian or Ana, would survive a separation.

"I can't do without her, John. I can't. And she needs me. We can't be separated."

Flynn just sighed. It was awfully difficult feeling useless and Grey had been making Flynn feel that way for several years and through many different therapies. Now, at last, he was making great progress…thanks to Ana. And now he couldn't seem to help Ana either.

Two weeks after the tragedy, Ana thanked John for trying to help her and apologized for being so difficult. However, she told him, she would recover. She was used to loss. Everything ended, after all. Her friends were finally at peace. She was more worried about Christian, she said. He'd tried so hard to make the building safe and help her friends and he was blaming himself for the furnace failure.

What Ana didn't know yet was that the fire chief suspected foul play. It appeared that the heat exchanger had been struck with a heavy blunt instrument. Although the investigation was not yet completed, he strongly suspected deliberate sabotage although it was beyond his understanding how the deaths of several helpless elderly people would benefit anyone. None had any money or relatives to claim property. But Christian feared that breaking Ana's heart and spirit _would_ be of importance to one person.

 **INTRUSION**

Ana sat in the window seat of the library, feeling nothing. She was adjusting to yet another loss, Flynn told Christian. He would have to be patient. In the evening, coming off the elevator, Christian felt loss as well. Ana didn't run to greet him. They didn't kiss and laugh as he held her. Instead he went to the library and sat down on the window seat, pulled Ana onto his lap and enveloped her in his arms. She snuggled into him and cried.

Still, he believed, she would get better. He would love her and show her that he wasn't going anywhere as she feared. Every day as she watched him get on the elevator, the fear showed on her face. He texted her the minute he arrived at his desk to reassure her that he'd arrived safely. At least once an hour he'd send an email, telling her that he loved her so and couldn't wait to get home to her.

He had Rennie watch her carefully. She didn't want to go to the park anymore because she suspected that the children playing there would be injured, that all people around her would die and she feared strangers. Thus, when an unexpected visitor waltzed into the penthouse one day and 'requested' an audience with 'the girl', Gail asked Ana to come out to the great room to meet Christian's mother, Grace. Ana shrank back but Gail assured her that Dr. Trevelyan was a very nice woman who just wanted to meet this girl whom she had heard had been in Christian's care at her hospital.

Unfortunately, Grace's intentions were not as benign as Gail believed. She was in mama bear mode. Her son needed protecting from women who wanted to use him and were after his money. She intended to make it clear to this intruder that she would not allow her son to be hurt.

Ana came out to the great room, timid and hesitant. She'd been with Christian for months now and all she knew of his family was that he had one. A few times he had gone to brunch on Sunday but said little about it when he came home. She knew that the secret he kept since he was 14, seduced and brutalized by Mrs. Lincoln, separated him, made him fear that they would be disgusted with him. Ana knew nothing about the character of his family members and, having only his word, thought perhaps he was right.

Ana smiled at Grace and offered her hand. Grace shook it limply and without enthusiasm. Ana, being smart and intuitive, knew that Grace was not there to offer a warm welcome to the family. She wished that she were wearing something nice…instead of sweatpants and Christian's t-shirt. Every morning he took it off and Ana put in on because it smelled like him. It comforted her until he came home. It made him smile when he sat down on the window seat and smelled himself on Ana. She loves me, he'd think. Isn't that amazing? This incredible woman _loves me!_

The t-shirt meant nothing to Grace, however, except that Ana was wearing it and sweatpants and sitting around Christian's house, eating his food and exchanging sex for freeloading. While Grace blatantly appraised Ana, Gail attempted to diffuse the tension by offering refreshments.

"Ana, why don't you get Dr. Trevelyan a piece of the chocolate cake you made last night for Christian while I get her a drink? What would you like, doctor? Milk, wine, water?"

Ana moved to do as Gail suggested but Grace waved her off.

"I didn't come to eat dessert. I'm surprised that Christian would have unhealthy foods in _his_ home. Is that your influence, Ana?" Grace's words bit the air between them.

"Umm…Christian loves chocolate cake. It makes him happy," Ana said in a quiet voice.

"How long do you intend to impose upon my son, Ana?

At this point, Gail jumped in with a fake smile and a lively air to reply for Ana.

"Ana has tried to leave and Mr. Grey has run out and hauled her right back. This is her home now. It you've consulted with Mr. Grey, I'm sure he would have told you that he has no intention to have Ana leave."

Grace glared at Ana. "Strange that he is supposedly so attached to you yet he has never brought you home for dinner or even mentioned your name. I confess to some confusion as to your purpose in my son's life."

Ana stood quiet, stunned and wide-eyed. Gail noticed her trembling hands and felt the need to speak again.

"Mr. Grey is quite private and quite in love with Ana. I suppose that he prefers his happy bubble that he shares with her."

Grace looked daggers at Gail. "Is this girl a deaf/mute who can't speak for herself? I'm trying to ascertain her motives for providing my son with sex?"

Grace had not heard the elevator nor noticed Christian standing behind her.

"Ana is my girlfriend, mother. She is in my life and my… _our_ home because I would fall apart without her, because I am a very fortunate man." He smiled tenderly at his Ana, dropped his briefcase and opened his arms. She ran to him and threw her arms around his waist, holding on tightly.

"Why are you here, mother? Do you find it unbelievable that a beautiful woman could love me?" He looked down at Ana as she beamed up at him.

Grace would not back down. "I'm concerned about your choices, son, and hers. All these years you've been alone. I think, perhaps, that you have simply latched onto the nearest pretty girl. Elena knows this person and has told me that she is poor, uneducated and inarticulate. All that is certainly evident."

Christian, thinking of all the talks he'd shared with Ana, laughed and, looking at Ana, made a yakety yak gesture. He made her laugh and his heart soared.

"How are you doing today, honey?"

"Better. It's getting easier every day. I keep thinking about what you and Taylor said about how they all died peacefully in their own beds. We never had to put a one of them in a nursing home. That's really good, isn't it?"

Christian nodded. He looked at his mother. " Ana lost a lot of people quite dear to her all in one night. In between plotting ways to steal my money, she's been trying to work through her grief. I'm very proud of her."

"Christian, what do you know about her? Elena says that she came out of nowhere and has no one. Now she's latched onto you."

"Mother, I'm a 28 year-old multi-billionaire who owns 2 jets, a catamaran, a helicopter, a penthouse and properties all over the world, including several that you and the family have enjoyed vacationing in. Ana wears my t-shirt because it smells like me. She fights me on every gift I try to give her. She hasn't touched the account I opened for her. If she's trying to take me for a ride, she's doing a piss-poor job of it."

"Perhaps it's all part of her plan…to set you up for the big kill." Christian threw his head back and laughed.

"The 'big kill', mother? You've been spending way too much time with your so-called friend, Elena."

At the mention of her name, Ana stiffened in his arms. She looked at Christian and whispered, "You have to tell her. You have to save her."

"I know," he whispered back, "soon," he rubbed her back to reassure her.

"Mother, I am so angry with you that I'm inclined to drop-kick you into the elevator and out of our lives. However, I'd be in deep trouble with my better half if I didn't ask you to share dinner with us instead.

Gail, what's cooking?"

"Ana made pot roast just the way you like it with chocolate cake for dessert." Gail enjoyed letting Mrs. Grey know that Ana was a good cook.

"I'll not sit down to dinner with this, this manipulative, conniving and violent trollop. Christian, I don't understand you. We raised you to have good taste in all things. There are so many truly lovely, intelligent, well-bred young women available to you but you've chosen _this._ Your brother has chosen Katherine Kavanaugh, beautiful and Harvard educated but you've shown your lack of sense and taste by choosing this waitress. Oh, yes, Elena has told me how she was treated by this trollop." Grace's face was becoming flushed and her temperature rising. She hadn't intended to say anything about Ana beating Elena but it was so infuriating that her long-time dear friend had been so mistreated and Christian was too afraid of the girl to stop it or speak up for Elena who'd always been so good to him.

Christian felt Ana heating up as his mother belittled him and scolded him. He certainly didn't want her going off on his Mom. He wrapped his arm more tightly around Ana as she trembled beside him. Ana, he knew, would protect him with everything she had so he needed to get Grace out of there.

"Your son is the finest man I've ever known, Dr. Trevelyan and your friend is a liar. Stop saying nasty things about him." Ana's voice was shaking and her breathing was raspy. Christian picked her up, threw a goodbye to his mother over his shoulder and took Ana back into their bedroom. He quickly stripped her and held her under the warm water in the shower. She was now gasping for breath and he was growing concerned that she was about to pass out. He kept talking to her until she finally looked him in the eye. Then she began sobbing.

Christian was furious with his mother. She, of course, had no idea how fragile Ana could be. He put his ear to Ana's chest. Her heart was racing and there was no telling how high her blood pressure was now. He wrapped her in his robe and rocked her in his arms as he sat soaked on the bed.

"It's okay, Christian. I'm sorry that I was so rude to your mother but it hurts me when someone hurts you. You're the last person who deserves it. I'm so tired. Why am I so tired?" Ana closed her eyes and was instantly asleep. He laid her down and reached for his phone, calling Dr. Greene. Normally, he would have called his saintly mother.

"I'm sorry to bother you after hours, Doctor, but Ana has had a trauma and I would feel better with your reassurance that she's going to be all right. Yes, I don't have a cuff but her heart is racing and she's clammy and pale even after a warm shower. Okay, thanks. Shall I send Taylor for you? See you soon.

"Gail," he called, "send Taylor out to bring Dr. Greene back here. I'm worried about Ana."

A few minutes later, Gail came in and took a look at Ana. "You go change into dry clothes while I watch over her."

When Grey returned, Gail looked just as worried. "Maybe we should have just taken her in? It certainly isn't my place to say but I was so surprised by your mother's behavior tonight. It's that Mrs. Lincoln that's the problem."

Christian didn't reply. He just patted Gail's shoulder and then put his arms around Ana. "Her heart is still going too fast and even though she's sleeping, she's shivering."

"Maybe this isn't normal sleep," Gail replied. "I don't want to wait for Dr. Greene. I'm going to tell Jason to take her straight to Seattle General and we'll meet them there." Christian didn't argue. He picked Ana up and carried her down to the garage with Rennie driving. Gail sat in the front seat, near tears, watching her boss cradle Ana and sing softly to her.

Rennie got them there in record time and Ana was quickly examined and then whisked away to the back rooms.

"Gail, you're her mother and I'm her brother, okay?" Gail nodded.

It seemed that they waited forever until finally the swinging doors opened and the doctor on call stepped through. The doctor on call was Grace Trevelyan. She looked grim.

"I don't think it's appropriate for you to be Ana's doctor, mother. I don't trust you to be caring and objective. She's in this condition because of you."

"She's being looked at by Dr. Rogers. I don't know that a little panic attack warrants all this fuss but I'll help you to see her when Dr. Rogers comes out."

Then she confused Christian with a sudden reversion to the kind woman he knew. "Since you're all she has and you've decided to assume responsibility for her, you ought to get power of attorney so you can speak for her."

Dr. Rogers emerged from the back room and asked for Ana's family. Gail and Christian leapt to their feet and to their relief, Dr. Rogers didn't care about the relationship. He sat down on a chair and motioned them to sit as well.

"Were you aware that Ana has a heart defect? Ventricular Tachycardia. It's a fairly mild condition as heart defects go but we will still have to keep an eye on it. I'm surprised that you've never noted the symptoms. She will need to avoid anything that causes her anxiety. It's a tricky problem that could increase her heart rate to dangerous levels. I see it noted that she's been here recently and I can't explain why her heart problem wasn't noted then. We'll set her up with some medication. She'll need to get plenty of rest but that should take care of itself naturally. She'll get sleepy and just drop off. Unless she mentions nausea or dizziness, just let her rest.

If you notice her pushing herself, remind her to slow down. I've already had a talk with her so she understands that she'll have to take life easy.

"You can take her home now. She'll be out in a moment. She's a real sweet girl and she says that she has a bad temper. I'll bet she says 'darn' a lot, eh?" The doctor laughed at the idea of Ana angry. Christian and Gail just looked at each other.

As Ana was wheeled out, Christian turned to his mother and said, "Excuse us, Mother, I have to get the little faker home. It's late." He picked Ana up from the chair and turned away from his mother who stared after him, with an expression of dismay and regret.

 **HIGH NOON AT THE MILE HIGH**

Christian nursed his bourbon and stared out the window. All he could thnk about was Ana and her beautiful heart. He'd done his research and then contacted the world's best cardiologist. The guy was in Sweden, for Christ's sake, and could not be persuaded to make a house call. Grey had tried everything….offered him buckets of money, all the latest in equipment and even a new wing of the hospital but the kindly-sounding gentlemen said that he could not leave his current patients. Grey would have to fly Ana there. However, he did suggest that Grey send him all her records and Dr. Lindgren would examine them and get back to Grey. There was a good possibility that a flight wouldn't be necessary.

Meanwhile, Grey had taken his mother's advice and secured power-of-attorney for Ana. He didn't have to pretend to be her brother or husband. Husband. The word frightened him and yet, he thought, the word girlfriend had once frightened him as well and now…well, now he loved saying it. They had been together for months now and he figured that it was his own damn fault that Grace hated Ana. If he'd treated her like a girlfriend and taken her home to meet his family, they would have accepted her immediately. Elena would not have been able to convince Grace that Ana was a gold-digging grifter.

Tho', truth to tell, meeting his family had never come up. Ana just seemed to accept it when they didn't go out together. Gripes, he'd never even taken her to dinner at his club. Her outings were to the grocery store, the park and her old friends….and they'd all been outings with her CPO, never with Christian. His subs used to hint around all the time that he take them out in public but he never did, certainly didn't want anyone to know about them. But Ana…he couldn't be prouder to have her on his arm. He thought that maybe since he was in the habit of hiding his women that he just hadn't thought to take her on dates and Ana seemed happy to stay home with him. That whole debacle with the heels…..

Christian got out his phone and punched in Neiman's.

"Hello, this is Christian Grey. Please put me through to Caroline Acton.

Yes, good day, Caroline. More or rather different wardrobe requests. I'd like to return all the high heels. No, no, there is nothing wrong with them. Replace them with ballet flats, regular flats and maybe a couple of very short heels. Yes, that's right….kitten heels.

Also, all the dresses one would wear with heels need to be shortened.

Yes, he laughed, the usual asap."

He rang off as he saw his lunch date approaching.

"Hi, Dad, it's good to see you….I hope. But if you've come to say anything disparaging about Ana….."

"No, no, son. I certainly don't want to be in your mother's shoes right now. She is in bad shape, son."

"What do you mean?" Christian looked genuinely puzzled.

Carrick chuckled. "Ah, son, you're still a bonehead when it comes to women."

Carrick went on to tell Christian that Grace had not been able to sleep for days, that she was up pacing all night and crying, esp. since the night at the hospital.

"You have known the woman for 24 years. You know that she has the most tender of hearts and that you, in particular, have always held a special place."

"Yes, Dad, I know that she means well but you didn't see her that night or hear her. It was like she was channeling Elena Lincoln. I mean, Ana said hello to her and then Mom was off and running. Gail told me what I missed before I got home and then I heard more of it when I stepped off the elevator. She called Ana a conniving, manipulative, violent trollop who was only after my money. Asked her how long she intended to hang around freeloading. And Ana's response? To whisper in my ear that we had to save her from Elena. She hasn't said a woman against Mom since but I've heard her crying. I had to very firmly tell her that if she tried leaving me because of what Mom said, I'd hunt her down, I wouldn't allow it. And I wouldn't, Dad. That woman is my life."

Carrick smiled. "That is the best news I've heard in a long time, Christian. Your mother knows that she was wrong to barge in and attack someone she didn't even know. She knows that you're not a gullible idiot but she had just come from lunch with that Lincoln woman and she'd gotten Grace so wound up with her tale about Ana, esp. the story of being beaten. How true was that, by the way? Details, son," grinned Carrick.

"Ana overheard Elena yelling at me, abusing me verbally. This was my first glimpse of Ana angry. She marched down the stairs, backhanded Elena to the floor, grabbed her hair and then dragged her and tossed her into the elevator. In a voice I'd never heard, she told her to stay away. I have never seen Elena Lincoln afraid of anyone but she was terrified.

"As soon as the elevator doors closed, Ana began shaking violently and then crying. I picked her up before she collapsed and it took me quite some time to calm her down. In the early morning, I found her curled up in a ball on the balcony in the rain. She was soaked and unresponsive at first. Losing her temper like that had shaken her up so badly. I didn't know at the time, of course, that she had a heart defect.

"When Mom tore into her, she was fine. She was only concerned for Mom. That's Ana. She's used to caring about others, not herself, and is still surprised when the people she's been living with for months care about her. Then she yelled at Mom when Grace criticized me. That upset her so that she later apologized for being rude and she was shaking and clammy. By now we recognized her reaction as physically odd and rushed her to the hospital….which I assume Mom told you all about."

"Your mother couldn't even finish her shift," replied Carrick. "She was so shaken up and contrite and ashamed. I told her to simply call and apologize but she's got herself convinced that _she's_ a monster and doesn't deserve forgiveness.

Lincoln called to get the replay of what happened at your penthouse. I answered the phone and told her that Grace didn't want to talk to anyone right now. That bitch really roils my blood.

"Christian, I am begging you to come to brunch next Sunday. Elliot, Kate and Mia will all be there to welcome Ana and act as a cushion, if necessary."

"Dad," Christian hesitated, "I just don't know. This heart thing has me so rattled. I'm terrified of Ana being the least bit upset. If Mom even mentions Elena's name….."

"She won't. I will prep her just like I would a trial witness. Now, you know how good I am at that," Carrick smiled.

"Mom may be upset that I'm angry with her but that doesn't mean that she's suddenly changed her mind about Ana and Ana's place in my life. Ana is highly intuitive. She is so sensitive and attentive to other's feelings that you really can't hide anything from her. If she senses Mom's disdain for her, she'll try to be brave and ignore it but, as the doctor said, if she gets anxious, her heart rate and blood pressure start shooting skyhigh. Mom will not able to hide her true feelings and I'm sure that by now Elena has talked to her again.

Mom's protectiveness of me is really over the top and I don't want Ana sitting at dinner doing the breathing exercises Flynn taught her while the rest of us are actually eating. I have a hard enough time getting her to eat."

"Like I said, your siblings don't know Ana and your mother hasn't said anything to them so they're going to be predisposed to _**love**_ _**anyone**_ that their gay brother brings home."

Christian grinned and shook his head at his father's sense of humor.

"Okay, Dad, I'll consider it. I'll talk to Ana. I'll feel her out. I'll let you know, okay?"

"Great, great, son, thanks for listening to your old man and now I'm due back in court in ten so thanks for lunch and please say hello to Ana from me."

Christian put down his bourbon and called Ana.

"Hey, sweetheart, would you like to join me for dinner at my club. No, no, wear whatever you want. You in a t-shirt and jeans drive me crazy, you know. We'll have a private room anyway. I never eat out in the main dining room. I'd get stared at the whole meal. Okay, around 5:00. I love you. Bye."

As Grey headed back to his office, he found himself whistling. He laughed out loud. He didn't even know that he knew _how_ to whistle. He used to so admire Grampa Theo's whistling. Although his maternal grandparents were frail now, he wanted them to meet Ana….and soon. It was a perfect match-up…three gentle people in one room. Maybe that was part of Ana's appeal. Not that she was just another brunette like the crackwhore but that she was so gentle and kind like his grandparents.

He wondered what to say to her about brunch. His father was correct. He was a bonehead. He wished that he could read her half as well as she could read him. She could hide her feelings. He could often tell that she felt something but he didn't know what….while she could read him like a book. Well, he'd just have to convince her to be honest with him and not just tell him what she thought he wanted to hear.

Ros and Andrea had ceased bugging him for a visit from Ana out of respect for her grieving period. He thought that he could tell them that he and Ana would be at the Mile High tonight and that they should just drop by for a few minutes.

He did and they just bounced around the office all afternoon like they were going to be meeting Prince Harry and Duchess Meagan. He cautioned them to tone it down. He didn't want Ana overwhelmed. That, in fact, was one of problems with Sunday brunch. He didn't know Kate well but Elliot and Mia would be so excited that Ana could get anxious. He was just going to have to tell them all to dial it down until Ana gets used to them.

The Mile High was busy which made Christian nervous. He was used to walking through crowds at his club, with people staring at him, esp. women. They would jump right in front of him to greet him, to flatter him, to push their cleavage at him. The men who ran up would want to congratulate him on some business coup or request that he have dinner with them, ask him for stock tips. The Mile High had a good reputation for its food, its service and its view which tonight would include Ana. How would she react to all the attention?

He watched from the door of his private room, his eyes trained on the elevator doors. He suddenly wished he'd had the foresight to have Taylor or Rennie meet Ana. He'd told Sawyer to see to it that she made it onto the elevator and he could take it from there. He didn't think it through. He didn't think about the gauntlet she'd have to run to get across the restaurant.

As he was busy castigating himself for his thoughtlessness, the beauty that filled his life stepped off the elevator. She was wearing a knee-length dress in deep velvet blue with a sweetheart neckline and her hair flowing over her breasts…and tiny ballet flats that showed off her delicate feet. She looked up and zeroed in on Christian admiring her from his doorway. She didn't see the men whipping their heads around to stare at her. She didn't notice the women glaring at her as she walked into Christian's arms. All she saw was Christian, her face glowing with the happiness of being with him. He pulled her into the room, closed the door and pushed Ana up against it as he pressed his lips on hers and greedily claimed her mouth.

"You are breathtaking," Christian said, moving his lips down her neck and back up to her earlobe, taking in her fragrance. He was about to lock the door and throw Ana down on the table when there came a knock.

"Mr. Grey, its' Ros and Gwen and Andrea and David, may we come in?"

"Oh, crap," Grey muttered. He released his hold on Ana and stepped back a bit to open the door.

"Well, hi, there! What are you doing here? What a coincidence! Ana, I'd like to introduce you to my #2, Ros and her wife, Gwen and this is my PA, Andrea and her husband, David. Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Ana."

Ana smiled bashfully at the four people staring at her. "Hello, it is nice to meet you," she greeted in the tiny voice Grey hadn't heard since he first interviewed her. For their part, the four people just continued staring at her while Grey stood above and behind Ana, waving his arms, trying to get them to speak. Ana turned back to him with a questioning look, slightly panicked, until David spoke finally.

"It is a great pleasure to meet you, Ana. I'm afraid that we're all just a little speechless because we've never seen Mr. Grey with a woman." Andrea just shook her head.

Ros spoke up. Unfortunately, she said, "Wow, you're hot. Good going, Grey." While Christian gave her a look that promised hellfire would rain down upon her on Monday, Ana said thank you and giggled.

"Okay, well, we don't want to keep you from your dinners. Thanks for dropping by," Grey said, thinking _Now get the hell out. This was a terrible idea._

The two couples backed out of the room and Grey immediately locked the door.

"Christian, the waiters won't be able to get in to take our orders," Ana remarked quite logically.

Although Grey mainly just desperately wanted to lift her skirt and remove her panties, he was torn…he also wanted her to eat. He caved in favor of Ana consuming a meal. He unlocked the door and then pressed the call button. Ana looked at him.

"You're behaving oddly. Are you okay?"

"Are you? That intro was strange, don't you think?"

"I think that perhaps they were intimidated. You are very handsome, you know." Ana said seriously. Grey just shook his head, beamed at his sweet, lovely, unassuming girlfriend and took her into his arms again.

"Dance with me, Ms. Steele." There was a waltz playing over the speakers. Ana looked bewildered. She'd never danced with anyone. "Put your feet on my mine," Christian ordered and then he danced his girl around the room, his arms around her and her arms around his neck. They didn't stop to order dinner. Christian knew his menu so he ordered and held on as long as he could before the food arrived.

Then he held out Ana's chair, pulled his up next to hers and tried to persuade her to eat escargot and oysters.

 **SATURDAY**

B.A (before Ana) Grey would get out of bed (or off piano bench) and put on his running gear and hit the road. It could be 4:30 in the morning but he'd run 10 miles in the rain. Then he'd go for a swim followed by weight lifting for an hour. Now he'd sleep like a rock until 9 or later…depending on how late he and Ana were up talking and making love. If Ana was still in bed with him, they'd make love and talk for another hour. Now he'd look out at the rain and wonder what the hell he'd been thinking.

They'd get up and make breakfast while chattering away together. He was in charge of toast and coffee and hot water for tea. Ana was in charge of eggs and bacon and pancakes. Grey was under the impression that he, too, was making breakfast. Then they'd split up the paper. He'd get the business section and Ana would read the local and national news. Then they'd have shower sex, get dressed and go for a walk, trailed by half a dozen coverts. Even with all the protection, Grey felt exposed and in danger out in the open but he could never let Ana know. Besides, he really like holding hands and talking. It seemed that they never ran out of things to say.

That Saturday Grey broached the subject he'd been avoiding for some time now….Sunday brunch.

When they returned from their walk, Christian oh so casually said the words…

"Ana, my family would like to meet you."

"Okay."

"What?"

"When do they want to meet me?"

"Sunday brunch. Elliot and Mia will be there. Probably Kate. And, of course, my parents."

"What should I wear?"

"Well, it isn't a dress up occasion. Just wear a dress or whatever you feel comfortable in."

"Okay, honey."

Christian had expected resistance and fear but Ana just kissed him sweetly and continued reading her book.

Well, okay thought Christian, that was easy. But, of course, nothing comes easy so he watched her warily…wondering what her game was. So, he just asked.

"Ana, why are you being so nonchalant about meeting a bunch of strangers, one of whom was dreadful to you?"

"I'm hoping that you will tell your family the truth and mend fences and with me there you have back up."

"Ana, it could be an upsetting discussion and there could be tempers and I don't want to have to rush you to the hospital again. You know, we have to be careful with our heart." Christian looked worried. But Ana smiled.

"Why are you smiing?" Christian asked.

"You said 'our' heart," she replied, putting her arms around his waist and looking up into his eyes adoringly.

Christian then smiled down at her, _'god, I love this woman'_. "You are my heart, yes. Without you I don't have one."

"Don't say that," gently chided Ana. "I've never met anyone like you. Your philanthropic record alone shows your heart but all the people you treat with kindness…..You have a huge heart."

"I didn't feel anything in my heart until I met you. Everything about you is beautiful. It's like there this rainbow aura around you. I'll always love you, Ana. I'll always need you. Don't ever have doubts."

Ana stood on her tippy toes and hugged Christian tightly around his neck. "I promise always to love you and need you and never have doubts. Without you, I think I'd just wander the streets until I wasted away. I wouldn't go on, wouldn't want to. With you, I feel safe and loved.

"Christian, you are home to me." Ana spoke softly, gazing with sincerity , brilliant blue into glowing gray.

That night, holding Ana, after making love, he thought about all she'd said to him and the way she looked at him. He also thought about all he felt compelled to tell her without planning to. And the word came to him again and he realized that he was comfortable with it now. Husband. Even more so, he found that he loved the word 'Wife'. He wanted to say 'wife'. He relaxed into the pillow, held Ana even tighter and realized that something he'd feared and dismissed all his life he now wanted desperately. He didn't completely understand the pull but it meant something wonderfully permanent and far from giving up his freedom, he knew he'd feel freer.

Still, he couldn't determine Ana's position. She wasn't used to permanence. She still thought that his feelings for her would fade and he would want his subs back. Their sex life was fantastic, he thought, and so much more satisfying than what he had with the subs. But Ana was accustomed to losing. All her life people had left her or rejected her. Her own aunt had taken her house and kicked her out. Being so shy and poor, having to be home all the time to help her father, and having a natural inclination toward solitude, she'd never made girlfriends. She thought of the employers at the café as parental figures and one day they told her that they were leaving for their Florida retirement. Elena, he believed, had killed her friends. Ana had come to peace with their deaths at last, even believing that it was a good way to die.

Selfishly, he thought, he was glad that she'd never made friends. That could have lead to boyfriends and he treasured being her first and only love. Oh, lord, he begged. Let Ana be okay and this brunch be friendly.

 **SUNDAY BRUNCH**

Grey paced back and forth in the foyer. He played with his phone, looking at all the pictures of Ana. He came to the one with the 12 foot ladder lying on the floor. He recalled the soft voice of his girlfriend, "Hi, honey, could you set the ladder up for me?" He looked up to find Ana, with Emmie on her head, holding onto the bit of rod that connected the massive foyer chandelier to the ceiling. She was at least 14 feet above him. He should have taken _THAT_ picture but he was too panicked. He set up the ladder and raced up the rungs to grab hold of Ana just as she lost her grip on the rod. Emmie was so scared that she had dug her claws into Ana's head for a good hold. Thus, there were several trails of blood flowing down Ana's forehead. Very carefully, they descended the ladder with Grey's steely grip on his girlfriend. He was going to kill "Rennie"…even if he was off today.

When they reached the bottom, he pulled Emmie off Ana's head and then looked it over. There were small cuts all over the top of her head. She protested that they were just little claw marks and would soon close but, of course, Grey had to worry. He ushered her into the bathroom, stripped her and put her under the warm water. He washed her hair, ignoring her protests as the shampoo chemicals flowed over the cuts. Of course, the shampoo only irritated the cuts more and the blood just kept coming. Grey was starting to come undone so he called his mother, explaining that in trying to cut his own hair, he'd nicked himself in several places. She told him to apply a styptic pencil to stop very small bleeds like the ones you get shaving and, for heaven's sake, use a billion or two to get a professional haircut or go to Elena's salon. He almost started laughing at that piece of advice.

While he rummaged frantically around in his drawers, certain that he already had a styptic pencil, Ana was out of the shower, a towel around her head, sitting naked on a chair. Grey turned around to the shower, holding the pencil, to find Ana gone. His eyes went around the room looking for her until his eyes landed on his girlfriend, naked with one delicious leg dangling over the arm of the chair while she towel-dried her hair and looked into his eyes. With one graceful move, he dropped the pencil and slid across the room on his knees and buried his face between her legs.

Oh, lord in heaven, she smelled good, like apples, tasted good as well and her usual reactions of moans, hands running through his hair and finally screaming his name. Dropping both her legs around his shoulders, face flushed and eyes glazed with lust, she ordered him to stand and strip. He was out of his wet clothes in seconds when she grabbed his penis. She lifted it and gently licked his balls, taking one in her mouth as he planted both hands on the wall behind her chair to keep from falling. Then she just as gently ran her hands over his penis, remarking how she'd always loved its little hat. Grey was gasping for breath. Finally, she began to draw him into her mouth, twirling her tongue around and around his shaft as she deepened her assault on his dick. When he was at the back of her mouth, she began sucking hard, moving his dick in and out. He let her do it her way and didn't try to fuck her mouth. He felt like he was floating. He felt an overwhelming peace and sense of well-being fill him. He couldn't recall the last time he'd felt so good and realized part of it was because his girl loved him, loved him so much that she'd learned how to give him pleasure, because she wanted to give him happiness.

His orgasm built slowly and strongly, the waves sweeping him away like a tsunami until he collapsed at her feet. He looked up at her. She was doing that thing she always did, dabbing daintily at the semen dribbling down her chin, her eyes shining into his. She left the chair to sit on the floor with him. "I think the bleeding stopped. Do you feel calmer? I was worried about you. You'd have thought I had a machete stuck in the top of my skull," she giggled. First, the perfect blowjob and now the giggle. He felt like he'd never be able to get off the floor. He laid back and Ana curled against him.

"I know that I'm your one and only but it's as if you've been practicing this for years."

"Well, I have practiced quite a bit with bananas, starting small and working up to Christian Grey size. They're a little harder to find in the grocery store," she giggled again. "I read a lot on google and I believe I've been working on fellatio with you quite a bit.

Then she looked up at him and put her hand on his face to turn it to her. "I am so deeply in love with you, Christian. I would do whatever you wanted to make you understand that. Would you like me to be blonde?"

"Good lord, no! Grey practically shouted. "There is nothing I'd change about you, nothing. Where did you get that idea?"

"Well, you employ a lot of blondes, I'm told…even your usual housekeeper is blonde, isn't she?"

"I'm a brunette kind of guy. I employ a lot of blondes so I'm not tempted. I'm particularly attracted to thick, glossy, mahogany brunettes," he smiled. "I've only ever met one of those, however, and she just walked away with my heart. I was done for on the night I found her sleeping on the stairs, humming 'Clare de Lune' in her sleep.

Looking back, that's about the same time that I started turning into a pussy cat at the office, confusing everyone. And leaving at 5 instead of 8 or 9. Wait until Mrs. Jones get back and finds out that she gets to see Jason more in the evenings."

"Jason and Mrs. Jones?" exclaimed Ana. "Oh, I can't wait to meet her before I go."

"Go where?" Christian was alarmed.

"Well, she'll want her job back, silly."

"And she can have it but let's have no talk of you leaving."

Christian sounded so firm that Ana didn't argue but she knew that this was just a beautiful interlude in her life that she certainly didn't expect to continue. Nothing lasted in her life.

But she had tonight, so many wonderful nights she'd never thought to have and that would be enough to help her through to the end.

"Oh, and Ana, we have pros come into to clean windows and chandeliers….the dangerous stuff. Please stay off ladders. My heart stopped when I saw you up there. Okay?"

"Okay. This floor is cool but I have to make your dinner. What would you like?"

"You. Now. In bed. We'll order in later if I'm ever able to finish making love to you," Christian grinned.

Much later they had pineapple, bacon and mushroom pizza.

 **BACK TO THE PRESENT**

Christian stood waiting for Ana in the foyer and smiling at the memory. Sometimes life with Ana was like one of those 1930's screwball comedies. He seemed to be laughing and smiling all the time now. Except at the moment he was busy gaping with wonder at his beautiful Ana, dressed in a simple white dress with a thin blue ribbon showing off her tiny waist and, of course, simple white ballet flats. She stood before him, smiling shyly, her hands folded together and radiating insecurity and fear.

He pulled her into his arms and told her that she was breathtakingly, wonderfully stunning. "Every time I think I've never seen you look more beautiful…." He kissed her and ushered her into the elevator. As they walked past the security guard on the way to his R8, his heart nearly burst with pride. He wasn't the only one who saw it. The guard's mouth was hanging open.

Christian drove with one hand on the wheel, against his usual safety policy, because he felt he needed to have his hands somewhere on Ana…her knee, the nape of her neck, her hand. As they pulled up to Grey manor, he got his first good look at Ana. She was pale, her eyes wide with fear. He pulled open the glove box where, among many places, he'd stashed a blood pressure cuff and heart rate meter. He quickly attached the equipment. Ana didn't seem to notice. Her bp and heart rate were high but not dangerously so. He turned her face to look directly at him, pulled her onto his lap and instructed her to breathe with him. She obeyed and together they did the breathing exercises taught to them by John Flynn. Slowly in, hold, slowly out…over and over until the meter showed a drop to safe levels.

"You with me, baby?" he grinned uncertainly at her. Ana took one more deep breath and nodded. "It will be okay, honey."

"I love you," Christian murmured into her hair. Then he got out, opened her door and led her into the lion's den.

His parents and siblings had been watching the scene in the convertible unfold. They couldn't quite make out the equipment but they could see that it was wrapped around the girl's arm and that Christian seemed quite competent with it. They weren't sure if they should ask.

As Christian and Ana walked up the steps, the door flew open and Mia ran into her brother's arms.

"Oh, I've missed you so." Grey hugged her hard. He loved his baby sister and had already warned her to tone it down. He could only hope the warning worked. Mia turned to Ana. It was clear to Grey that Mia was trying hard to hold in her enthusiasm. She stared at the vision before her. Ana was so pretty. She could tell that Ana was nervous and shy so she did what came naturally.

Mia ignored Ana's outstretched hand and instead enveloped her in a warm hug. "I have been waiting for my darling brother to give his heart away my whole life. You were definitely worth the wait." Then, still looking at Ana, Mia put her hand out and Grey put his handkerchief in it. Mia gently dabbed at the tears escaping Ana's eyes.

"I've never met anyone who looks like you," marveled Ana. "Your black hair, emerald green eyes…you look like Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt. She was known for her archery skills."

Mia beamed. She knew that she was beautiful but no one had ever noted it so simply and sweetly. "Well, you appear to be a fairy. I think that fairies and goddesses have to stick together. Come meet my other wonderful brother, Elliot. Christian and his parents stood aside, allowing Mia to take the lead. It was amazing to see their loud and raucous Mia being so gentle and, well, dignified.

Ana stood before Elliot. Christian was 6'2 and solidly, elegantly built. Elliot was 6' 5 and built of solid muscle from years of construction work. With his blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes, he made quite an impression.

"Hello cow. You are one tiny chick!" Then he picked her up before Christian had time to stop him and whirled her around. Ana looked both startled and amused as he set her down. "You're so big," she said in awe. "I'm sorry to stare."

"Ah, it's okay. I'm surprised that you're not intimidated like most."

"Oh, you seem like a St. Bernard puppy," Ana beamed at him. Grey stood there a little jealous. Her beams belonged to him. As if Ana sensed Christian's jealousy, she took his arm and kissed his cheek. He beamed.

Then Carrick stepped forward and introduced himself and expressed his great pleasure to meet her. He took a deep breath and then brought Grace forward. Ana began to look nervous again so Grey stepped in and said that his mother had asked to say something. Would that be okay? Ana nodded.

"I would like to apologize for the very undignified, ugly and completely unfair way in which I spoke to you. I am so deeply ashamed of my behavior. I promise you. That isn't the usual me."

"I wasn't bothered so much about your poor opinion of me, a stranger, but when you spoke unkindly to Christian, well….

But you were just being a proper mama bear. Considering all the things you said about me, believed about me, it could have been much worse. You showed a lot of restraint really. Had I been you, I'd probably have beaten me bloody. And I so understand you being protective of Christian. I feel the same way. I wouldn't let anyone hurt him and that is why I beat up your friend. That's the one thing she didn't lie about."

"Well, we can talk about all that later. Ana needs to eat," insisted Christian.

"Then come into the dining room and have a seat," said Carrick. "Christian's mother is a cook par excellence. And Mia has a degree from the culinary institute in Paris. Thus, they can put together quite the feast. Ana looked unsure and Christian knew that she was concerned that she'd never be able to eat everything. "Maybe you could just try a little bit of it all," he suggested. Ana looked at him gratefully and nodded.

Just then there came the sound of the front door flying open and a woman's voice calling gaily, "Don't eat it all before I get the chance. I'm talking to you, Elliot Grey."

Elliot smiled and got out of his seat to greet his girlfriend, Kate. And he _really_ greeted her. Ana stared while everyone else bowed their heads. PDA didn't begin to describe their, hmm, affection for each other. Ana had thought Elliot was bigger than life. Well, Kate was more than a match for him. He pulled out a chair and Kate was seated directly across from Ana.

Christian's thinking was along the lines of "Oh, crap". Over the top women like Kate irritated him. He met a lot of them in business who had adopted assertive, crass personalities in order to be taken seriously in the world of big business, big male business. He and Kate had never been friendly and it seemed as if one of her great joys in life was to bug the shit out of him.

"Hello, everyone. I passed Grace in the kitchen. She smells delicious."

"Well, you, too, my dearest, could smell like that if you cooked," teased Elliot

"In that case, you'll have to make do with me smelling like Channel #5," she teased right back.

"Oh, Christian, so good to see that you've crawled out of your burrow…and six weeks early. Introduce me to your friend."

I'd like to introduce you to a swift kick, Christian thought. Elliot could read his mind and shot him a warning look.

"This is Ana Steele. Ana, this is Elliot's 'friend', Kate Kavanaugh. "Her father owns Kavanagh media."

"Yes, I remember Mrs. Grey mentioning you." Then Ana whispered across the table. "She thinks quite highly of you."

Kate grinned. "Well, I drug her," causing everyone to laugh, except Christian who just glared at her.

"I think what mother thinks highly of is Kate's pedigree and her Harvard degree."

While Kate glared back, Ana piped up innocently, "I didn't know that people have pedigrees. I thought that was a dog thing." Now, everyone, including Grey roared. Ana looked confused. What had she said, she wondered.

Kate didn't take offense, to her credit.

"No, Ana, humans can have pedigrees, too. Sometimes it's simply of a matter of being a good human….like yourself while others simply appear human while they're really dogs," she smiled benignly at Christian who smiled benignly back at her.

"Tell me, Ana, what turn of fortune led you to this guy," Kate gestured toward Christian. Elliot put his hand around Kate's back and softly massaged the nape of her neck. He knew how bad this could get.

"His housekeeper left for an indefinite period of time to take care of her sister and the children while the sister was having chemo. She's back now and her sister seems to be out of the woods. Gail is wonderful. She can do anything and she doesn't mind me being there and messing in her kitchen," she stopped to take a breath. Sometimes, except with Christian, Gail and Rennie, she talked very fast to overcome her shyness.

Kate seemed to understand. Besides, that huge hand massaging her neck was so relaxing.

"Yes, Gail is wonderful, I'll agree with you, Ana. Especially with all she's had to put up with all these years. Christian has been lucky to have her. To his credit, he knows this."

"Oh, yes, he never takes Gail for granted and she feels maternal towards him," Ana looked at Christian who was now full on blushing. Ana had never seen Christian blushing. She was concerned. "Honey, are you too warm? Should we go out for a short walk before dinner is served." Without an answer from Christian, Ana rose from her chair and took his hand. He looked at her adoringly and walked out the back door to the garden, holding Ana's hand.

"Wow," said, well, everyone. Even Kate suddenly felt warm toward Christian. She didn't know the grumbly old sot could look so vulnerable, so loving. Ana virtually lead him around by a crook of her finger. They could be seen out on the brightly lit lawn, walking along with their arms around each other, her head leaning against him and his head leaning down to rest on hers.

At this point, Grace and Mia came in with several bowls and plates filled with dinner. "For dessert," said Mia, "I've made red velvet cake." The rest of the table was still staring out the windows. Grace and Mia followed their gaze and were as charmed as the others.

"Hard to believe that our growly, uncommunicative son is that gentle, happy man out there." Carrick got up from the table and took a heavy platter from Grace, put it down and then pulled out her chair. Then he knelt beside her, handing her his handkerchief for her tears. He smiled. "It's okay, my little mama bear. I'm sure you're forgiven. Now forgive yourself and enjoy the show," he grinned. He sat in his chair and held Grace's hand as he said a little dinner prayer.

Ana and Christian came back in and took their seats. Ana took small amounts of everything. Elliot noticed and he also noticed his brother's shake of the head, a warning to forego any comments on Ana's appetite.

Mia began talking so, of course, the table came alive with conversation and laughter. Ana said little but laughed and listened. There were questions, of course, but Ana answered them all without any visible distress. Periodically, Christian would kiss her forehead, surreptitiously gauging her temperature. To the others, he was being uncharacteristically affectionate but Grace recognized the maneuver.

Ana ate enough to satisfy Christian and complimented Grace's skill in the kitchen. Carrick commented lasciviously that he'd always admired her skill in the kitchen, too. It went right over Ana's head, Grace blushed, and everyone laughed with Mia mock chastising her father. Ana offered to help clean but Grace reassured her that her helper was used to returning to the brunch mess on Monday morning.

"Table tennis, anyone? You know I'll win," bragged Elliot.

"You're on, brother, and you know that I usually win," retorted Mia.

They'd been ping ponging with each other since Mia could reach the table.

Kate preferred to watch and comment. She offered a seat next to her to Ana who looked unsure at first. Christian told her to enjoy herself while he met with his parent's in Carrick's study. So Ana sat down next to Kate. She could tell that Christian didn't like Kate. Was it because Kate was blonde? She had shoulder length, curly yellow hair. It was very pretty but Ana felt too shy to say so. Kate was also tall but that meant nothing to Ana. Everyone in her life was tall. She was used to looking up and one of her favorite things was to look up at Christian.

Kate talked with Ana and Elliot was proud to see that his girlfriend was being gentle with his brother's girl. He'd never seen Christian happy and he liked it. He wanted his brother back. He wanted to go hiking again and biking and wrestle out on the lawn. He'd always loved him, since the day his parents brought him home. They'd feared that their only child would resent the intruder, esp. one as odd as this little mute boy who had screaming nightmares. At first Grace would rush in and try to calm him but eventually she'd rush in to find Elliot talking him down. After a bit, the boys began to share a room and when Christian began to mutter and flail about, Elliot would reach across the small gap between their beds, take his hand and talk to him. Then Christian would go back to sleep. Elliot never resented all the extra attention given to Christian, maybe because he was assured of his place in the house or because Grace told him what a wonderful brother he was to Christian or simply because of his own good heart and recognition that Christian was in terrible pain. They were close as kids but as they grew older and started their businesses, they lost touch. Christian became so distant that they hardly saw each other.

"So, tell me about Christian. You know, I hardly know the guy," complained Kate.

"What would you like to know?"

"Well, for starters, why doesn't he like me?"

"You're strong, assertive. He isn't used to that with women. All the women in his life say 'how high' when he tells them to jump. You know, he hires a lot of women. He doesn't care about gender when he needs someone to do a job, just their ability. He even interviewed a couple of men to be his temporary housekeeper but like all the women, I guess they were really only interested in him."

"And you weren't?" asked Kate, disbelieving.

"No, I didn't know who he was. When I saw the building, Escala, I quite nearly turned around. It was rather intimidating. And it took a long time for me to feel comfortable in that penthouse and to realize that he was going to scream a lot but never at me. Mostly at people on the phone and sometimes Rennie but that was my fault."

"Who's Rennie and what was your fault?"

"Rennie is Reynolds, my CPO. I tend to get into trouble a lot and then Christian yells at Rennie and then I yell at Christian for yelling at Rennie so now Christian just speaks calmly to Rennie."

"What kind of trouble do you get into, pray tell? How do you displease Mr. Grey?" Kate snarled.

"Oh, nothing significant but Christian is very protective. Let's see, I ran into traffic one day to save a kitten from being hit. Rennie scooped me up just before a big truck ran by. Another time I almost fell off the balcony trying to get to a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest. I was kind of balancing on my stomach with my feet off the floor but Rennie caught me before I fell. Christian, too, rescued me when my ladder fell over and I was hanging off the giant chandelier in the foyer."

"Why on earth were you on the top of the chandelier?"

"Dusting."

Conversation continued until Elliot challenged Mia to another ping-pong match.

Ana watched as Elliot and Mia trounced each other, yelling and cussing each other out. Kate played cheerleader. She was very loud. Ana wasn't used to such exuberance but she liked it. As she watched, she felt something familiar inside her start to rise. She excused herself to Kate. As she walked away, she heard Elliot berating Kate, asking what the hell she said to upset Ana. So, Ana turned around and walked over to Kate. To Kate's surprise, Ana hugged her and said that she'd done nothing and she hoped to see her later. That shut up Elliot and Mia.

Ana walked over to the door she'd seen Christian go thru and after a soft knock, she entered. It was clear from Grace's tears and Carrick's grim expression that Christian had been telling them about his time with Elena. Christian looked grim, too, until Ana walked in. He opened his arms and she crawled onto his lap. He extended the recliner and then reached for a throw from the couch to cover Ana. She curled into his chest and he wrapped the throw around her and held her securely to him.

"Okay?" he whispered..

"Yes, I just need a nap. Tell your parents that they are really good parents. Your mother takes everything so to heart." With that she was out. Christian kissed her head and relaxed. It had been a very rough hour telling his parents the story of a 14-year-old boy being seduced and abused by his mother's best friend. Than he explained how he'd become the abuser and that his secret life and Elena's brainwashing had put distance between him and his family.

"But, I'm back. Really back. I have a wonderful family and it kills me to know that I've wasted so much time. I don't have a playroom anymore and, of course, no more subs. I have Ana. I have everything I could ever want. She's taught me so much. I didn't have a normal life before her. I was an outsider, Elena made sure of it. Ever reminding me that I was special, that no one would understand me but her, that she was my only friend and, sadly, she was….for all these years.

"But," interjected Carrick, "should we be discussing any of this in front of Ana?"

"Ana is fast asleep, Dad, I assure you. The specialist from Sweden told me that Ana would always need a lot of sudden naps. She tires easily and she isn't used to the exuberance of my family. This heart defect she has could worsen if we don't keep it under control. Dr. Lindgren has all her test results but as soon as she is stronger, I'm going to take her to Sweden.

"You want to do lawyer talk now, don't you?" Grey intuited.

"Well, son….Grace, honey, maybe you should take a nap, too. You look wiped out and all this awful truth has exhausted you."

"I'll go as long as I have your assurances that you won't leave without saying goodbye," begged Grace.

"Come here, Mom."

She leaned down and Christian kissed her and assured her that she'd done nothing wrong and that he and Ana had both forgiven her for all she'd said. He told her to stop worrying and think about how he was home again and brought an angel with him. He then told her that he loved her and always had since she'd first rescued him at the hospital. He'd thought that she was an angel then and he still thought that.

Grace look much better as she headed for her bedroom. Elliot challenged her to a contest but she smiled and said that she'd had enough challenges for one day.

"God, I hope Grace doesn't go all mama bear on Elena now," Carrick chuckled.

"I don't know, Dad, I think I'd like to see that. Now, why did you initially order me into your study. Felt like old times. What is the gist of today's lecture?" Christian asked, smiling.

"Let's see, I think we've covered poor grades, fighting at school, getting expelled from school, "Carrick grinned, "but I don't think we've ever covered girls."

Christian looked down at Ana, her face so relaxed and peaceful. He automatically kissed her forehead to reassure himself that she was all right.

"I think I've got girls covered, Dad."

"Well, I'm sure that you're not going to like this lecture but it must be done. So…..what do you know about Ana?"

"You know, Dad, that I have Welch do deep vetting of anyone with whom I do business."

Carrick nodded.

"So, when I received Ana's application, I turned it over to Welch. I didn't take it too seriously because it didn't come through in the traditional manner, i.e., e-mail. It was received in the snail mail and written by hand on notepaper. Welch got back to me and said that everything on the paper was true with some additional information he thought I should know.

Ana lived in a small Washington town, was abandoned by her mother who went off in search of bigger and better casinos, intending to return when she hit it big. She didn't return and when the letters stopped, it was presumed that she was dead. Ana then lived alone with her father, more maid than daughter. He developed heart problems, became an invalid and was completely dependent upon Ana. Ana did odd jobs and made money anyway she could to supplement her father's military pension and small social security checks.

When Ana turned 16, she dropped out of school and got a full-time job which didn't last long. Her father died. The little money they had went to funeral expenses and then Ana lived alone for a short time until a woman showed up claiming to be her father's next of kin, his sister, and rightful heir to the family home. Ana was told that social services would see to it that she was housed elsewhere. Ana packed her little suitcase and hit the road. When she got to Portland, she got a job at a diner and started taking GED classes. She's smart. She was ready for the final exams in just a month's time. That's 2 years of high school in one month. She got top marks

and took her diploma over to WSUV but was rejected because she couldn't pay all the fees and the up-front tuition.

So, she hit the road again. She figured she might be able to make more money in Seattle. She had no social security number, no driver's license, no birth certificate….no identification except for her GED diploma but this mom and pop diner didn't care and hired her. They were very good to her. She found a studio apartment down the street….a real dump but quite cheap. She made friends with the other tenants, all of them elderly and all of them in need of some care. Mrs. Hirsch across the hall needed food. Her small social security check covered her rent and about a week's worth of food. So, Ana brought food home from the diner, food her employers had given her for herself, and she gave it to Mrs. Hirsch. Then she spent the rest of her check on food and necessaries for the other tenants.

"Good grief, how did she survive?" Carrick stared at the tiny person in Christian' arms.

"Well, she did but just barely. She explained to me that she was being pragmatic. She was young so she could skip meals and just feel hungry. These old people would skip a meal and possibly die. Even after she came to work for me, she was still wrapping up her own meals to take to the folks back home. When I found out about this, I insisted that when she and Rennie went to the store, they buy extra. She'd make enormous pots of noodles with meatballs and sauce then disappear after dinner with Rennie to deliver dinner to her old friends.

"When she lost them all, she went into a deep depression. We had to keep a close eye on her for a while."

"What do you mean…'Lost them all'….asked Carrick.

"Really? Well, I guess a bunch of old people living in a derelict building didn't make much news. The new furnace I installed developed a crack in its heat exchanger. By morning they were dead. Ana found them and almost died herself. Taylor was with her and recognized the headache and nausea he felt so he grabbed Ana off the floor and performed CPR out in the street. Ana eventually came around to believe that it was for the best. They all got to die painlessly in their own beds. Still, they were her friends and she lost them all at once."

"I do remember something about that, come to think….I suppose you strung up the manufacturer."

"No, now keep this to yourself for the time being but the fire department and police suspect foul play. It looks like someone deliberately went at the furnace with blunt instruments."

"Who would do something like that?"

"Only one person I know would have motive. One person who was soundly thrashed and tossed out of my home by the friend of all those people."

"Oh, you don't mean…."

"Oh, I do mean. Such reprehensible behavior is right up her alley. Dad, I know what Mom heard today about me and Elena means the end of their friendship but do everything you can to keep her from doing more than staying away. No angry words, no threats, no insults and certainly, no violence. Nothing to make Elena angry enough to come after Mom or anyone in the family. I already have coverts on all of you but Elena is capable of anything to get revenge. Anything, Dad."

"Well, then, son. We have to take her down."

"Working on it. Her every breath is monitored but Welch thinks that she could have an endless supply of burner phones and another endless supply of blackmail subjects. She could have half the police in her pocket. She's been at this BDSM stuff for decades. She used to brag to me that she owned Seattle."

Ana started to stir, seemed to be struggling for breath and a tear flowed down her cheek. Christian kissed the tear away and began singing softly to her. She relaxed and snuggled closer to Christian.

"Son, we have to discuss the financial implications of having a very poor girl living with you. She could really take you for a ride. What arrangements have you made to protect yourself?" 

"Dad, the only arrangements I've made are to protect Ana. I've opened her own account and I put money into it every month. She's never touched it. I'd give her anything she wants but all she ever wanted was help for her elderly friends. She lives in jeans and t-shirts unless I specifically ask for her to wear something else. She's in a dress today because she was concerned about embarrassing me. She isn't interested in jewelry or cars. She's working her way through my library at record speed. And the idea that she'd ever try to sue me for money is laughable. She just isn't interested in ownership….of anything."

"Still, Christian….."

"No, Dad, I don't need protection from Ana. And I may as well tell you now that there will be no prenup….so don't even start. I know she loves me and if she, god forbid, ever left me, she'd take her little suit case of t-shirts and jeans and just walk off down the street."

"Love Christian," Ana mumbled in her sleep.

"When she starts to mumble, I know that she'll be waking soon. So, anything you want to say before she's fully conscious?"

"No, son," said Carrick as he smiled at Ana. "I think we've covered everything."

Ana's eyes slowly opened and she looked up at Christian. "Can we go visit Mrs. Hirsch now? She'll be getting hungry." Christian looked at her sadly and nodded, "Sure, honey. Anything you want."

Ana continued looking into his eyes, smiling and then nuzzled into his neck. "I need a kiss." So, Christian kissed her and then she sat up, looked around and saw Carrick.

"Oh, I remember. Hi, Mr. Grey, how are you? Where is Mrs. Grey?" Suddenly, Ana looked disturbed. "I didn't make her leave, did I?" she asked anxiously.

"No, no, dear. Christian told us all about his experiences with Elena and his mother was so upset that she needed to be alone for awhile. Nothing to do with you."

"You really told them everything, Christian?"

"Yes, sweetheart, I did."

Ana looked into his grey eyes and put her little hands on either side of his face. "Are you okay?"

Never better, really."

Ana crawled off his lap and walked to the door. "Where is she now?" "Possibly the garden," said Carrick.

As Ana left in search of the woman who hated her, father and son smiled at each other. "I'm afraid that half your flowers will be going home with us."

 **MAMA BEAR IN THE GARDEN**

Ana found Grace sitting in her gazebo. Ana had never before seen such a structure and was staring in awe as Grace watched her. "Would you like to come sit with me? she asked Ana. Ana nodded quickly and took a seat on the swing near Grace. "What is this called?" "You've never seen a gazebo?" "Nope. Is it just a nice place to sit outside 'cause I don't think you could store anything in here."?

Grace had to smile at Ana's small experience in the world.

"Ana, may I ask an impertinent and personal question?" queried Grace.

"Sure," Ana answered brightly.

"I've never been poor, Ana. My parents were wealthy and even when Cary and I were first married, we had a beautiful apartment and a couple of nice cars. My parents and scholarships paid for medical school. No, I've never known a moment of financial struggle. My children are all adopted and that is quite a cost but it wasn't at all a concern."

"You chose well. They are all beautiful children. Christian just takes my breath away. He thinks I'm pretty but I think he's just biased. If we were in a museum, I'd be the janitor dusting the statue of David. And Elliot and Mia left me speechless at first. They're so handsome and beautiful and not at all stuck up about it."

"Well, thank you, dear. I'm glad that you like them."

"Mrs. Grey, I'm very sorry that you've lost your friend. Do you have other good friends to talk with?"

"Not really. I have a lot of acquaintances but Elena was very good at staying in touch. You know, she seemed so interested in me. She didn't have…. couldn't have children, she told me. Now I think that that was a lie.

So, anyway, she was always quite interested in mine, esp. Christian. I thought it was because of his muteness. She encouraged me to talk about my troubles with him and she sympathized and complimented me on my dedication to him. She made me feel important. She made me feel like I was a good mother. What a joke, eh? Me and my big mouth gave her all the ammunition she needed to draw him into her world, her sick world."

"You didn't fail with Christian, Mrs. Grey. He is the most wonderful, generous and kind man I have ever known. And he adores you. He says that before me, you were the first angel he ever knew. He doesn't blame you for anything. He went after what he wanted and then had to find his own way out. He didn't stop practicing BDSM or dismantle his playroom because of me. He was just ready. He said that he'd been increasingly bored and dissatisfied with all of it. It's okay with some and I guess a lot of couples find it brings them closer but he needed something different. I just happened along at the right time. He was lonely and there I was."

"Ana, I don't think that's true. Christian told us that, yes, he was increasingly bored with BDSM and was giving serious consideration to facing up to Elena but that you were a complete surprise. The dismantling of the playroom and meeting you were separate events. Unrelated. You just helped him. You know, my dear, he is deeply in love with you. I know that Elliot loves Kate but Christian's love for you surpasses anything I've seen. I am amazed and delighted that he is capable of such feeling. And, you've brought him back to us as well. We'll always be grateful to you for that."

"Mrs. Grey, I know from Christian that you are a wonderful mother. I think one of the reasons he was thinking of ending his relationship with Elena was because, well, he missed his mommy so much."

"You know, Ana, he told me that that day I was berating you in his house, you whispered to him that he had to save me from Elena. Here I was slicing and dicing you and your concern was for me. I do find you to be remarkable."

Ana's blazing blue eyes opened wide in astonishment. "Really, you don't hate me anymore?"

Grace moved next to Ana and put her arms around her. "Would you let me mother you, Ana?"

Ana confessed that she'd never been mothered by anyone and didn't know what being mothered entailed.

"But I'd like to find out, I think," she beamed.

Christian and Carrick watched from the window out onto the garden. "Would you look at that," marveled Carrick. "Yeah, that's my Ana. It was inevitable that my two angels would find each other," smiled Christian.

Later, on the way home, Christian reflected on what a remarkable day it had been. Telling his parents about Elena and BDSM had been hard. Their shocked faces, their anger and then their self-blame and just as he thought he was about to crack, came the soft knock at the door. He knew that knock. It was really just a courtesy. Ana never waited for an answer. The policy, well-established at their house, was that Ana could always walk right it. It didn't matter whether he was on the phone, on a teleconference call, meeting with other businessmen. If it was Ana, she was to walk right in. Sometimes, she just had a question. Some times she just needed to sit on his lap…. just to be with him or because she needed to nap and she preferred him to an empty bed. The looks on the faces of the people he was talking with were confused and sometimes disapproving but Grey didn't care. He had his priorities and Ana was at the top of the list. He carried on the meeting as if nothing was out of the ordinary. One of his amused visitors sent him a photo he'd taken on his phone of Grey chewing out an employee while Ana sat on his lap and Emmie sat on his head. The visitor jokingly said that if he ever needed the money, he could get rich off that picture.

Ana was reflecting as well as she lay with her head on Christian's lap. She was thinking about Grace's question. Grace knew that Ana had always been poor, had lacked so many things that Grace took for granted….good food, decent housing, nice clothing, for starters. How had Ana managed without these things? Ana replied that she had never thought much about it. She couldn't speak for other poor people but she always had food. She always had clothes and she always had a place to sleep. Often it wasn't the best food or enough. She was happy in jeans and shirts and sneakers. And she'd had to sleep in shelters and doorways sometimes but mostly she had her own roof. Ana said that it must be a matter of priorities. If she had children, for instance, her priorities might be different.

What, Grace asked, did she think when she applied for a job with a rich person? Nothing, Ana replied. I didn't even realize that Christian was all that rich until the bus I was riding in started downtown past all the richest buildings. I was terribly intimidated and almost kept right on going.

When Gail returned, was Ana sad to be leaving? Oh, yes, said Ana. I loved Rennie. I loved Christian but I thought I was expected to return the job to its rightful owner. I was quite surprised to wake up in his bed after I'd fallen asleep on that bus bench. I didn't understand my purpose in being there. I thought that maybe Gail hadn't returned after all or that she needed help. I was also quite concerned that perhaps her sister was relapsing. But Christian insisted that Escala was my home, that he loved me and wanted me to live with him.

So, I am.

She went on to tell Grace that she was going to get a job and use the money to take college classes. She thought she needed to be better educated so she wouldn't embarrass Christian. Can I help? asked Grace. When I have math and chemistry and biology classes, yes!

All in all, it had been a very good afternoon, smiled Ana to herself. When the SUV flew through the air, flipped over and there was screeching metal and cracking glass, she turned her head to see a large truck reversing and coming at them again. She unbuckled her belt and threw her tiny body over Christian which saved her from being crushed.. Ana felt the bumper at her back. She turned to look. She couldn't see over the hood of the truck but in the beam of a nearby street light, she saw a blonde head ducking into another vehicle. She caught sight of an ankle and high heels just before the person piled into the car. Then she saw blackness.

 **IMPACT**

When Ana came to, she heard sirens, a lot of them, coming fast and loud. She looked up at Christian. He had blood running down his face and his head hanging to one side. His eyes were closed. She tried to get up but her legs were pinned down by the door.

"Christian! Christian! Wake up, please! We have to get out.

"Taylor, are you awake?" he answered with a groan but didn't move.

Ana fought to free herself. A voice said, "don't move. You'll tear up your leg. Let us get this thing off you and then we can get to the guy."

"His name is Christian Grey. His mother is Dr. Trevelyan. Please call her." Then blackness again.

Ana wandered in and out of consciousness, catching glimpses of firemen, flashing lights, metal being lifted into the air. She'd hear words….'blood, unconscious, bad, bad, bad, bad'.

She kept saying Christian's name, asking for him and about him as she fought hard to stay awake. When she fell into the blackness, she heard the crash, felt something slam into her once, twice. She saw yellow and red, yellow hair and red shoes.

Christian was beside her, holding her hand and telling her not to be sad or scared. He would always be with her and he would always love her. She woke up…screaming. There were monitors beeping madly. There were lines attached to her arms and electrodes taped to her chest. She tried to get up but the side of the car had collapsed into her and she was trapped. Christian wasn't with her anymore. He was gone. She had him such a little while…a few months. It wasn't fair. Everyone left her, she expected that but she had somehow kidded herself that she would get to keep Christian for a longer time. He'd rebuilt his playroom. He was with a sub. No, wait. They'd been in a car. Christian was bleeding. Christian was dead so Ana laid back against the pillow and waited to die.

"We really need to talk with her, Dr. Trevelyan. She was muttering some things. We think that she might have seen something.

"I've already explained to you," sighed Grace in exasperation. She is _not_ conscious. She has only had moments of wakefulness. She wouldn't be capable of speaking with you. I want information more than any of you but I'll have to wait as well. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to the ICU."

Grace couldn't believe the hell the family and Gail had been through the past 24 hours. Jason was almost dead when he was brought in and Grace was convinced that he'd lived only because Gail begged him to stay with her. Christian was still touch and go. And Ana should have been conscious some time ago but she only came and went….calling for Christian, screaming about helping him. In fact, she had told the firemen to get him first or she'd pull until she tore her leg off.

They believed her so they monitored her while they used the jaws-of-life to cut open the roof and lift Christian out. By that time Ana had lost so much blood, she was disoriented and not making sense. She thought Christian was being taken up into heaven. She began crying and thrashing about until they had to sedate her to avoid further injury. In the ambulance, she begged to be allowed to go with him and no one could convince her that he wasn't dead.

The police, meanwhile, had discovered that the attacker's vehicle was stolen. No surprise there. There were no witnesses thus far. It was a lonely stretch of road with no sidewalks and at least a mile between mansions. The attackers had apparently waited in a driveway and carefully calculated at what point the Grey SUV would be passing. They had either gotten lucky or knew what they were doing because they rammed into the SUV at the exact moment it was driving by. What had saved all their lives was the driver's inability to get up to a lethal speed. Ten more miles per hour and they would have landed on top of the back seat.

Grace sat with Christian, watching him sleeping. He had a moderate concussion and pieces of glass embedded into his head. Meanwhile the piece of metal that could have landed in his side had landed in Ana' back. The doctors had removed it but wouldn't know the extent of damage until the swelling ebbed. She, too, had a concussion and dozens of cuts from pieces of metal and glass. The authorities informed Grace that Ana had threatened to tear off her own leg if they didn't get Christian out first. She'd also lost a lot of blood and had, at one point before they got her out, gone into cardiac arrest. Grace had arrived and told them that Ana had a heart defect. She'd been told to prepare herself for a negative outcome.

"Negative outcome," she sobbed into Carrick's chest.

"Balderdash," growled Carrick. "That little thing has survived a life that would end most people. They'll get her out of that car and she'll be fine…..eventually. Christian is already on his way to Seattle General and he'll recover, too. I only hope that Ana wakes up before he finds out how badly hurt she is. We'll have to tie him down.

It seemed to be taking forever to cut Ana out of the SUV. The passenger side had taken the worst of it and if Ana hadn't thrown herself on top of Christian to protect him, she would be dead and he would have taken a far harder hit. Elliot and Mia and Kate stood close by Grace and Carrick. Mia was crying, Kate was comforting her and Elliot. She felt pretty shaken herself but she reasoned that she was not part of the family and so should be stronger. In truth, she was trembling at the sight before her. The SUV was beast of a car, bullet proof and equipped with special equipment to handle rollovers which probably helped but when a large truck runs into it…..The vehicle was so twisted and collapsed into itself. Without the tires, one would not recognize it as a vehicle instead of a pile of glass and metal on its way to a salvage yard. Kate could see blood. She heard Ana screaming for Christian. She watched the jaws of life tear off the roof so that Christian and Taylor could be lifted out of the SUV. She listened to Ana pleading to be allowed to go with him and she heard her threaten to tear off her own leg if they didn't get Christian out first. It would be a long time before she slept well again.

THE HOSPITAL

Christian had improved enough to be moved out of the ICU and into a private room but he was still in a coma. It was just as well, Grace assured everyone. He would be in considerable pain if he were conscious and would need to be medicated. The less medication the better. Besides, he would be howling for Ana and would have to be sedated just to keep him quiet and in his bed.

Ana was in the ICU and her condition still dicey. The metal shank that had embedded itself in Ana's side had destroyed her spleen and missed her liver by centimeters. Had she not been on top of Christian, it would have gone through his liver. All the blood loss she incurred had weakened her considerably and her heart defect, once a minor concern, was now life threatening. Unlike Christian, however, she was in and out of consciousness, saying strange things. Grace listened carefully and noted every word, even those sounds that may or may not be words. She tried to put them all together into something coherent. Yellow, red shoes, heaven and on and on. At times, it seemed that she was really trying to communicate and other times she seemed to believe that Christian had died and she was begging to be allowed to go with him. Black, yellow, red shoes…Grace discussed with the rest of the family what these words could possibly mean. Then Ana began to enlarge her vocabulary. Black, yellow, red shoes, ankle…..

"Ankle!" boomed Elliot. "It was a woman she saw because no one ever notes a guy's ankle. A woman wearing red shoes. A blonde woman wearing black, maybe?"

"Do we know anyone who is blonde, wears black and red shoes?" asked Kate.

In a very tiny voice, a frightened voice, Mia spoke up. "Maybe Ana meant the bottoms of the shoes…..like Louboutin's? Mrs. Lincoln wears black and Louboutin's and has yellow hair."

"Why would Elena do harm to Christian?" asked Grace. "Her behavior with him may have been disgraceful but she didn't even know yet that he'd told us."

"What behavior? Told you what?" Elliot looked disturbed but nervous.

"Elliot, do you know something? Speak, Elliot!" commanded Carrick.

"It's not my place and I promised my brother I'd never tell his secrets," Elliot hedged, trying to defend himself.

Grace and Carrick glared at him until he cracked.

"I knew when he was 16 and I saw him when I came home from college. He was covered in welts and bruises and it took everything he had to walk straight in front of you. I forced him to tell me and he begged me to keep his secret because he was convinced that you'd hate him. I was younger, too, and thought maybe he was right. I know better now, of course but by the time I'd gotten old enough, he'd become a dominant and he was happy in that role. I told him that you wouldn't like it but you'd accept it.

Still, it was too late. Elena had him so brainwashed until his feelings for Ana became stronger than his fear of Elena that all I could do was hope that he'd come to his senses someday. Until Ana came along, I feared that day would never come.

"Do I believe that Elena is capable of trying to kill Ana? Yes. But I never dreamed that she'd go after Christian, her #1 boytoy. Maybe her plan was to hit the car just on Ana's side, killing her, but the hit came too hard. And I'm sure that Christian had eyes on her. I don't know how she made it out of her house without him knowing. We've got to talk to Welch and Reynolds."

Grace walked into the hallway to speak to one of the bodyguards. They were everywhere now….many struggling to maintain impassive expressions, a couple failing. They all felt that they'd failed. Grace inquired after Ryan Reynolds who came running.

Rennie explained that Welch was now examining the tapes covering Elena's home, trying to determine if and how she'd gotten out without being noticed.

"I'm thinking that she has some kind of tunnel system but that doesn't explain why the tapes show her passed out on the couch in her living room for most of the day."

Grace despaired at the way her mind was now starting to work. She never used to think about hidden tunnels, henchmen, hired doubles…..a mess of intrigue. "Do you actually see her face on the tapes or just her hair or her red nails? And where is she now? Has anyone been to her house?" Grace didn't want to leave her son but she so needed to attack her former best friend. She wondered if that heavy shovel was still in the trunk.

While Rennie got busy on his phone, Grace went into Christian's room.

Carrick was sitting, holding his son's hand and begging him to come out of his coma. Grace realized that she was the strongest one in the family, at the moment. Maybe it was because the hospital was hers. She was in her element and calm seemed to come automatically. She leaned over Carrick and kissed the top of his head.

"Sweetheart, your legal skills are called for. Christian has power of attorney for Ana but with him unconscious, we'll have to get power of attorney for Ana through us. I know you don't want to leave him….."

Carrick wiped his eyes on his jacket sleeve. "No, no, dear, you're right, of course. I'm glad one of us is thinking. I'll get right on that. I'm surprised it hasn't come up yet. We're been here several hours. I suppose the business office will begin bugging you first thing in the morning but they're giving us a break right now. Helps to know people," he smiled proudly at her and, after embracing her, stepped away to call a judge who would expedite the power of attorney.

Kate, tho' not a relative, was asked to sit with Ana in Grace's absence. She held Grace's notebook, scribbling down every mumble and mutter that came out of Ana's mouth. It was so hard to listen to Ana asking to die, to go with Christian. She had just met the girl but Kate's tears did not stop. She ceased drying them and just held Ana's hand. When Ana wasn't talking, Kate continually reassured her that Christian was alive and doing well…just asleep. Sometimes it even seemed that Ana heard and understood because she'd sigh and smile a bit….so Kate kept it up.

Since only one person at a time was allowed to be in the ICU, Kate had to go it alone. She desperately missed Elliot. She'd always been assertive and confident but now that she had Elliot, she found that she'd rather let go of some of her strength. She liked her big, goofy lug being strong for her. Elliot knew that she could probably take care of herself in any situation but he was, nonetheless, protective. He had his commanding moments, esp. romantically. He was the first man she'd ever known who could handle her….who didn't always want her to run the show. She loved him and she wanted to be part of his family but she certainly hadn't counted on this horror show as the chance to prove her worth.

She liked Ana, too. She'd never been around another woman who was so gentle, timid but brave. Between Mia and Ana, they could be quite the trio at family gatherings. She idly wondered if her older brother, Ethan, would find Mia charming. Ethan was steady, unassuming…..a rock. He'd either find the ebullient Mia irritating or he'd feel a natural inclination to stand by and watch out for her.

Ana began to move about, crying out for Christian, asking him to take her with him. Kate got out of her chair and put her hands on either side of Ana's elfin face.

"Ana! Listen to me! Christian is alive and in a room here at the hospital. He's going to be all right. Do you hear me?"

"Take him first. I'll tear my leg off. Take him first!" Ana begged.

"Okay! We'll take him first! Okay?!" Insisted Kate. Ana breathed easier and became quiet. Just then strong arms surrounded Kate and held her tight. Elliot rested his head on top of Kate's.

"That's my girl. I knew Mom was smart to send you in here instead of me." Kate turned and snuggled into Elliot's chest and began bawling. Her nerves were shot. Hour after hour of chaos and fear and Kate was done.

Elliot picked her up and carried her outside…signaling to Mia to take a turn. Mia straightened her shoulders, picked up the notebook and pen and smiled as she marched into the ICU. It wasn't often that anyone gave Mia a chance to be significant. She wouldn't mess this up. Her adored brother would be counting on her to look after his girl.

As Grace sat with Christian, as Elliot held Kate on his lap in a side room, as Carrick commandeered an office to arrange POA, a scream of fear and fury tore thru the corridor from inside the ICU. As a family army, Kate and the Greys ran into Ana's equipment-dense room to find Mia holding some strange, sharp implement as she stood between Ana and Elena Lincoln.

Rennie and several other bodyguards raced in and grabbed Elena as she loudly and crassly protested being treated with such a lack of dignity. They dragged her into the office and threw her into a chair.

Rennie immediately got on with Welch and asked what was showing on the monitors. Nothing, replied Welch. A while ago, Elena had gotten off the couch, raced into her bedroom and dressed and then had left the house in her car, coming straight to the hospital. She told them that she had heard on the TV about the accident and came immediately to see Christian and help her friend, Grace.

"I'm sorry to be so late but I drank a bit, fell asleep and just woke up. I thought he'd be in the ICU so I ran in and Mia began ragging _at me!_ I don't understand why you're all so angry with me! Where is Christian? Who was in that bed? What happened? Something about a horrible accident. Is Christian in the ICU? Grace?!"

Everyone stared at her. They had no proof but all, including the police, were convinced the culprit was in the room with them. The police asked her when she'd gotten home and she replied that she hadn't left the house all day. Everyone looked to Rennie who said something to Welch and then nodded to the police.

How did she pull it off? They didn't know but they were certain that she had. Christian in a coma, Ana in the ICU and Elena getting away with it all. Frustration levels were high. As if reading each other's minds, it was agreed to share nothing with Elena of their suspicions or the information about BDSM that Christian had shared. With the same will power and spine of steel that drove her to mama bear all over Ana, Grace kept all to herself as did Carrick and the others. Mia even made a convincing apology for her 'hysteria'.

Grace embraced Elena and thanked her for coming but said that the ICU was off limits to most and that only family was allowed to sit with Christian until he came out of his coma. Elena seemed genuinely distressed that Christian was injured. She begged to see him but Grace said that the hospital was standing firm on this. However, she would call when he awoke and was allowed visitors.

Very reluctantly, Elena finally left the floor, covertly followed, of course. While she was at the hospital, Welch had had his operatives go through her house. They had found a couple of fake blond hairs identical to those found in the stolen truck but such cheap wigs were sold everywhere. It proved nothing and, without a warrant, could not even be used against her. While she was being held in the hospital, they did have a chance to thoroughly examine her car. Oddly, no hairs were found in her car. Nothing was found. It was as if the car had been quite facetiously detailed. That, in itself, was suspicious.

But as badly as Grace wanted to hurt Elena, the woman had been her best and often only intimate outside the family for 20 years. The pain of being betrayed by her friend was immeasurable. Why, how could she? The questions kept coming.

Grace slipped away from the rest and drove to Elena's house. She needed answers. Maybe they'd even make sense. Her family would never have let her go so she excused herself to visit the chapel and then kept on walking right out the door to the parking lot. As she drove, she thought of all the times she had despaired over her beloved Christian and Elena was always available to listen, to advise. Was it all coldly deliberate?

Grace knew that even before she pulled into Elena's drive that her coverts were losing their minds. She knew that she didn't have much time before everyone burst in to "save" her but she didn't feel fear, just overwhelming sadness. Perhaps a few answers would ease her pain some.

Elena answered the door, back in her bathrobe, a look of astonishment on her face. That….and a slight hint of fear?

"Grace, dear, what are you…..? Oh, my god, you didn't come to tell me….?

"No, Elena, Christian is the same. But when he comes out of his coma, he'll come for you and I needed to speak with you as old friends before he ends you."

"Ends me?!"

"Elena, we all, the police and the family, know you tried to kill Ana. Maybe you tried to kill Christian as well because he chose Ana over you but I have questions so please don't waste the time we have left in denial."

"Ana saw you. She's comatose but getting better. The police are compiling a case against you. Your time as a grande dame of society is over. Your time as a free woman is coming to an end.

I didn't come to entrap you, Elena. I'm not wearing a wire.

You were my friend, I thought, for 20 years and not all that time was spent discussing Christian. You held my hand as I cried over my miscarriages, fights with Carrick, the loss of my dear in-laws. We sat at a table at the gala for years, fighting our exhaustion and boredom, making each other laugh. Do you remember that, Elena? How much we laughed over the years?

God, you were so funny.

"I need to know Elena. Did you mean any of it or was all of it about using me to usher you into proper society? You know, I know how you struggled to become a "lady", to rise above your poverty. It never mattered to me that you'd been poor and ill-educated. I admired your resolve, your determination to be somebody."

Elena lowered herself heavily into a chair and watched as Grace paced. Elena, thought Grace, looked pale and immensely tired.

"I think that someone like you hurt you as you did Christian and convinced you as you convinced Christian to ignore societal conventions, to hide yourself away from all but 'your own kind'. No innocent baby is born to hurt others. We do only as we have been taught. You won't believe me, I know, but if you had come to me….. Talk to me, Elena, before it's too late."

Tears, real tears, flowed down Elena's cheeks. "I did love you, Grace, but the pull of that life was too strong and the results too rewarding. I know that you don't believe me and think I'm deluded to think so but I did love, and do love, Christian. I saved him from himself the only way I knew how. And look at him now…..wealthy beyond measure, strong and self-assured. An island, needing no one. He's never been helpless since I took him under my wing. I'm the only person who understood him, who could protect him."

"He's been an angry, lonely man and he was an angry, lonely boy. Ana has somehow brought him into the light."

"NO!" Elena screeched. "She made him weak and needy. She made him turn against me, his only true friend. I tried to warn him but for the very first time, he wouldn't listen to me. Do you understand how that felt? To lose the boy to whom I'd given everything to a simpering, mousey girl who is using him for his money?"

"And what about all the money you inveigled, embezzled and otherwise stole from him?"

"I shouldn't have had to use undue influence to get what was due me. I made him who he is. I taught him how to negotiate, how to terrorize his opponent, how to use his god-given talent to build an empire. He owes me and now I'm nothing to him. I don't understand Grace. I've been at his side all this time, helping him to get what he wants. Because of me, he is the premier DOM of Seattle."

Grace couldn't name all the emotions she felt…but anger was certainly at the top. Elena really believed that she created Christian Grey.

"You beat him, Elena. Days he couldn't walk, would throw up his food. He told us all the horrible torture you put him through. How could you cane a young boy's groin and call it love?"

"I had to do a lot of harsh things to bring him to heel, Grace. I also taught him to dance, to tie a Windsor Knot, to dress elegantly, to handle himself in society. He walks like a panther, Grace. Have you never noticed his graceful movements? Elliot, god love him, clomps around like a Clydesdale while Christian is an Arabian stallion."

Grace stopped before Elena's chair and knelt down to her level, taking her hand in pity.

"Elliot is happy and, before Ana, Christian was in misery. Did he never tell you? Did he never tell you about the nightmares that ruled his sleep? You may have taught him to dance but you never taught him to _DANCE…"_

With that, Grace rose with elegance to her feet and swirled around the room to music only she could hear.

"In the end, Elena, he still refuses to see you as the pedophile you are. He does, indeed, believe that you saved him. He will probably try to help you, as long as Ana agrees and she will agree because she is a kind and lovely woman who will try to see the good in you."

Grace looked up at the sound of the gravel in the driveway being disturbed. She looked at Elena in pity, the worst thing she could do to her. Elena knew that soon the police would find her box of burner phones, her secret doubles wardrobe wore by one of the thugs she blackmailed into driving a truck into Ana. Even if it wasn't enough to jail her, she would never survive the bad publicity. Her salon would tank and Christian would never give her another dime. She'd failed. For a while she was a lady but now people would stare at her in disgust.

Grace didn't say goodbye. That was understood. She walked out the front door and handed her car keys to Rennie. The police arrived with a warrant to search the house. They would find the dungeon. And they would find Elena hanging by her neck from her carabiners.

 **GRACE AND RENNIE**

As Rennie drove Grace back to the hospital, neither aware of what had transpired with Elena after they left, Grace intuited that Rennie wanted to talk. She knew that it wasn't his place but he cared so for Ana that Grace felt he deserved some answers.

"What do you want to ask me, Rennie?" enquired Grace.

Rennie took a breath, gulped and glanced briefly at Grace as he drove her car.

"Well…..does this car have seat heaters?"

Grace seemed startled and then began laughing…loudly…as Rennie smiled. "Thank you, Rennie, I needed that," Grace said, patting his shoulder. Then she told him what he really wanted to know. That she had to know if anything about her 20 years of friendship with Elena was real. Did Elena have any understanding of how she'd hurt Christian?

"Weren't you afraid that Elena might hurt _you_?"

"She couldn't hurt me anymore than she already had, Rennie. Lying to me for 20 years. USING me for 20 years. I knew this was my last chance to get answers."

"Did you?...get answers, I mean? asked Rennie, his concern for her evident in his voice.

"Some, I guess. Her feelings for me were ambivalent. She found me useful but she also felt something for me.

Christian told us that Doms weren't supposed to love, that Elena said love was not for 'them'. Yet she claims to have always loved Christian."

"You know," said Rennie, "I was there the day that she 'visited' at the penthouse, the day that Ana threw her out." Listening to your son describe what Elena had done to him was absolutely stomach churning. I think that's what made Ana lose her mind. She is shy and timid but when it comes to people she loves, she is a tigress. She represses her anger but I've seen her completely lose it on occasion."

"That is hard to imagine. When I tore into her _and_ Christian, she looked frightened but not angry. She chastised me for criticizing my son but without harshness. At the time, not knowing her except from Elena's lies, I thought she was just trying to appear sweet-natured in front of Christian."

"She was worried for you, for the influence of Elena. Her behavior was genuine. And now that she knows you, you'll never see her angry with you. She was very excited after your brunch, you know," Rennie smiled.

"She was bouncing in her seat, talking about how you didn't hate her and that you wanted to mother her. She's never been mothered, you know, and she kept asking Mr. Grey what it's like and what _she_ should do.

Imagine not knowing what mothers do."

"Where do your parents live now, Rennie?"

"Heaven, I hope," chuckled Rennie. "Dad died about a year ago from a heart attack and Mom had breast cancer. I lost her when I was 15."

Grace was dismayed. "What about other relatives…aunts and uncles, perhaps?"

"No, I was an only child and so were my parents. My grandparents are long gone. Health is not a big factor in my genetic background," Rennie laughed while Grace grimaced.'

"Oh, Rennie, you have no one?"

"Well, I have some buddies from the service and with the job I do, it's best that I don't have a family. Did you see Gail tonight when they brought Jason in and she had to call Sophie? No, a family is a big maybe and a long time from now for me. I suspect that Gail and Jason are going to be having a real serious discussion about his job responsibilities. Besides, Dr. Trevelyan, it isn't like I'm going to be alone. I'm Ana's CPO and usually where she goes, I go. The crash was an anomaly.

"I think that you might have some news waiting for you when you arrive back at the hospital," Rennie hinted.

 **SOME NEWS**

While Rennie parked the car, Grace raced into through the hospital doors to find her entire family, with the exception of Christian, standing in a line, arms crossed, and furious faces all round.

"Well, who's with the kids if you're all out here glaring at me?" Grace figured an offense was the best defense under the circumstances.

"Don't even try it, Mom," snarled Elliot.

"If you weren't too old to put over my knee," snarled Mia.

"You _aren't_ too old to put over my knee," snarled Carrick.

"I wasn't in any danger from Elena. Quite the opposite, actually. She's lucky I left her alive when Rennie arrived."

Her family looked at each other and the snarls mellowed out. Carrick took his wife's hand and led her to a chair. He squeezed her hands and kissed them. Grace looked alarmed and was about to burst out with fear for the children when Carrick took a deep breath and told her that shortly after she left, Elena was found dead in her basement dungeon.

"The police walked into the house to present the warrant and saw Elena ducking down the basement stairs. They followed but couldn't find her for quite a while. Then one of the men looked behind the movie screen and found a hidden door. It was open. Elena hadn't been dead long but her neck wasn't broken so they figured that it took some time for her to choke to death. She'd hung herself, Grace. I'm so sorry."

Grace's hand flew to her mouth. "I told her that her life as a grande dame was over. I guess she couldn't face being a social pariah which I would have certainly seen to it that she was. I drove her to end her life. Oh, my god, I didn't realize that she'd go that far. I thought she's just try to run to some country without extradition."

"Well, sweetheart, we have some good news," said Carrick. "Christian woke up just as you were sneaking out. As predicted, he began bellowing for Ana and insisting on getting out of bed. Elliot warned off a nurse with a syringe and he and I helped Christian down to the ICU. He's with Ana now. The nurses are pitching a fit."

"I need to see him now, right now. Don't mention Elena."

With that, Grace raced through the halls to the ICU. Her heart was in turmoil. Her former best friend was dead and she felt responsible. Her son had awakened from his coma and she hadn't been there. And how would Christian take it that Ana was so ill. She had a sudden urge ….selfish, she felt…. to grab Cary and go home to bed, to get lost in him and forget all the horror around her.

Still, her heart lifted when she walked into Ana's room. Christian had seated himself on the bed, holding Ana against his chest, his arms tight around her. He was pale, unshaven, and all his strength, it was clear, was being used to hold Ana.

Grace hugged her son's neck and kissed his head. "I suppose it's no use saying that you need to be in bed," she smiled. Christian's furrowed brow lifted a bit as he noted that he was, in fact, in bed.

"When will she wake up, Mom?" His voice, unused for so long, was hoarse, raspy. He looked scared. "I need her, Mom," he said, almost begging.

"Soon, darling. All her vitals are good. The pressure on her brain has gone down so she should be coming out of her coma soon. How do you feel? Are you in pain?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I just want Ana to wake up. Ana, please open your eyes. Talk to me." He kissed her head again. "Her heart, Mom….?"

"It's fine, dear. It was a problem for a while. She'd lost so much blood and she was so afraid for you but now I'm sure that she is aware of you because her readings are calm and steady. You know, the truck hit Ana's side of the car just after she threw herself over you. Her legs were trapped and the fire department began to use the jaws of life to get her out. She insisted that you be taken first, said that she'd tear her own legs out if they didn't get to you first.

They believed her and began cutting through the roof. When they were lifting you out, she got confused and thought that you were being taken to heaven. She screamed to please go with you. It was awful, Christian, to listen to her pain. She truly believed that you were being raised up and she was begging to go with you. By that time, with all the pain and blood loss and fear, the EMTs were working feverishly to cut her out. They'd managed to attach monitors and blood lines which probably saved her life. One EMT in particular had managed to crawl into this jagged, tiny space filled with glass shards and metal daggers. He laid face to face with Ana and held her hand, telling her over and over again that he was an angel and had direct orders from God to keep Christian alive and waiting for her. The longer he consoled her, the calmer she became. She didn't seem to feel the pain. For a while we feared that she would lose her legs.

All we could do was stand around, crying and holding on to each other. Kate had one arm around Mia and the other around Elliot. I went to the hospital with you in the ambulance but the others felt that you would want them to stick around for Ana.

For a time, Grace watched her beloved son as he whispered to Ana, encouraging her to open her eyes. He smiled at one point when Ana mumbled.

"She always mumbles just before she wakes," he beamed, but then she went silent again and a tear fell from his eye. He sighed and looked up at his mother. "Go on," he urged, "tell me everything I've missed."

"Well, they rushed you into surgery. You had a large shard of glass embedded in your head. We worried that you might have damage but it was minimal. If Ana hadn't tried to cover you, the metal piece that jabbed into her spleen would have ended up in your liver."

"Lights out?"

"Most likely, Christian. This tiny girl keeps saving you. Somehow, she glimpsed the truck racing toward your car split seconds before it hit and she used that time to unbuckle and throw herself over you. She apparently saw the truck backing up to make another run at the car so she kicked at the door to push herself further on top of you. Her back is black and blue from where the bumper hit her and the door trapped her legs. A passing car called 911 and the sheriff called us. We arrived in time to hear Ana screaming for someone to help you. She apparently thought Jason was all right and kept begging him to help you."

"JASON! Mom…?"

"He was bad for a while but Gail never left him and ordered him to come back. I sincerely believe that she saved his life. He was fading but when she began demanding that he stay alive for her and Sophie, his vitals grew stronger. He's been awake for a while now and Gail has been directing his care…much to the chagrin and amusement of the nursing staff.

"While I was at the hospital, losing my mind, Cary arrived to keep me calm and sane. My rock," Grace smiled.

"He told me what was happening back at the crash site and how Kate was actually holding everyone else together."

"Kate, the little ballbuster?"

"Yes, Kate. Later, when I wanted to go sit with you, I asked her to watch over Ana for a while. She sat in here and talked to Ana, held her hand. Between the crash site and the ICU, she spent hours deep into our family drama. Elliot went to look in on Ana and found Kate looking pale. He said that she just broke down and he carried her out to give her a rest. I'm quite impressed with her. She's been dating Elliot for just a month and she willingly completely immersed herself in our family horror show ….taking care of everyone."

Christian hadn't taken his eyes off of Ana and Grace didn't know if he heard her, but she wanted Christian to give Kate a chance and stop glaring at her.

Ana began mumbling again and Christian's face lit up.

"That's right, baby. Keep talking to me."

Slowly her blue eyes opened, dazzling Christian as always. She looked worried until she realized that Christian's arms were around her. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief and began to cry. Grace decided to leave the lovers to themselves but as she got up to leave, Ana called to her.

"Mom, you need to talk to Elena. She's so alone and very scared in that place. She needs to know that you love her so she can begin to move on. Just tell her it's okay to leave that place and that you will always be here when she needs you. You know, you were really all she ever had."

Grace looked at Ana in shock. "What place do you mean, Ana?"

"I don't know what it's called or where it is exactly. It's beyond here. It was hard for her to die. She couldn't breathe and she was so sad and empty. If you talk to her, she'll be better. She asked me to ask you."

Grace and Christian stared at each other. Christian didn't know Elena had died but right now all he cared about was Ana so Grace decided to talk to him later.

Ana's voice was soft and raspy but she was fully aware. When Christian leaned down to kiss her lips, she giggled. As nurses and doctors approached Ana's room, Grace beseeched them to give the lovers a few minutes more alone. Then she made her way to the chapel….to talk to Elena.

 **WEEKS LATER**

"Christian! I can walk! You can't carry me everywhere like your favorite toy," whined Ana as Christian once again toted her from the bedroom to the kitchen.

"Ana, sweetie, you've only been out of the hospital for 2 weeks. You're missing a spleen. You're still recovering. You have a bad heart. I'm scared all the time. I _will_ carry you everywhere. You can kick your gorgeous legs and yell in my ear until it bleeds but I'm not taking any chances," Christian firmly asserted.

Ana rode in his arms with her arms stubbornly crossed. Then she uncrossed them and wrapped them around his neck with her head resting on his broad shoulders.

"Okay, honey. Don't be scared. Only I do get to use the toilet by myself….agreed?"

"As long as I get to carry you into the bathroom," agreed Christian.

Gail and Taylor listened and snickered. This bickering had been going on since Ana woke up in the ICU. Ana ignoring her condition and fighting for her independence. Christian being afraid of letting her feed herself and being unable to leave her alone. Ros was enjoying playing bitch CEO so Christian worked from home on his laptop always next to Ana.

Gail watched the two fondly but also rarely took her eyes off of Jason. Sometimes she'd make an excuse to go to the laundry room and when Jason followed, he'd find her sniffling and shaking. She'd come so close to losing him and she was still so shaken up. Rennie was doing all the driving now and Gail had made Jason promise that he'd give up active protection and stick to leading the security division. He didn't want to stop driving Grey. He was used to that responsibility and he didn't trust anyone else but, he figured, maybe it was time. His ex-wife was giving him grief about the effect of his near-death experience on his little girl and, mostly, Gail wasn't sleeping well and he often caught her crying.

Christian set Ana down on the new kitchen stools. The old ones didn't have arms and backs and Christian worried that Ana would fall before he could catch her. He and Jason exchanged looks.

"Now hold on to the counter and/or the stool arms," he cautioned Ana, who simply smiled at him sweetly. She figured that her boyfriend was still suffering from his head wound.

"Jason…my office, please," ordered Christian. "Have a seat. I think I know what you want to talk about."

"You're wrong, sir," grumbled Jason. "I don't _want_ to talk about it but I promised Gail. I can't go on watching her being upset all the time….knowing that there is only one way to make her feel better. I recommend either Ryan Reynolds be your new driver or Luke Sawyer. I trained Reynolds myself and Sawyer came trained. I trust them both."

Christian looked askance. "Absofuckinglutely not! I will not accept your resignation under any circumstances! Besides, you already have too much to do. The other two can drive. I'll accede to that under duress but I still need you to supervise and run the entire security detail. AND, and, every once in a while, you'll be Ana's CPO when there is just no one else I can fully trust. Oh, and this new position comes with a raise in salary…..and probably a house."

Jason's mouth dropped open. He expected the rest. He had no intention to quit, anyway….but a house?!

"Sir, a house? I need to be on site, here at Escala, to properly run security."

Christian smiled. "I haven't told Ana yet but I bought a house on the Sound. It has a dock and a boathouse and about 20 acres. I'm going to build a couple of buildings to house my staff. You and Gail will have a house, however you want it. We can connect the house to the main home so Gail doesn't ever have to go out in the rain and you'll have your office close to mine."

"Christian," Jason said kindly, "I'll have to check with Gail but I'm pretty sure that you don't buy a house without getting your live-in girlfriend's thoughts on the matter. I mean, what if she doesn't like the house?"

"Well, actually, I bought the place for the land so we can build any kind of house that she wants…just like you can. Keep it to yourself, of course, but do sit down with Gail and talk about what you two want. So, do we have a deal? You'll stay?" Christian asked hopefully.

"I never had any intention to leave. I was just going to give up active protection so that Sophie and Gail wouldn't have to worry. My ex-wife was leaning on me to leave the life or leave Sophie's life. I guess she's been having nightmares. Gail's having nightmares, too, and bursting into tears randomly. I'm not ready to retire from action but…

I have some ideas about revamping our security, too, and now with the house, it's even more important. I'll need the address so I can start casing the property. I'll notify the team today about the changes. I think they'll actually be happy about their new responsibilities. They've been wanting to get out of the office.

"Now, is there anything else, Mr. Grey?"

"Yes, you nearly died for me so no more Mr. Grey.

"Sorry, sir," corrected Jason, "but I'm a professional and will continue to be one. But as a compromise, every once in a while, when you piss me off, I'll yell at you. Okay?"

"Well, okay. If that's what I have to settle for. Now I want to get back out there before Ana gets off that stool and starts running around."

Hours later, Christian was still awake and staring at Ana. God, he thought, she is so beautiful. How the devil am I supposed to ever go to sleep when she is here to look at? He wanted to make love to her again but he'd never wake her. He thought back to that day in the hospital when he woke up, without her. It couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes before his dad noticed and as quickly as possible alerted his son that Ana was safe and sound in the ICU….but those couple of minutes were filled with terror. He remembered hearing screaming and now Ana wasn't with him. He was about to start screaming himself when his dad jumped up.

"Ana is alive, son. Alive. She is here in the hospital and she is going to be fine. You both are."

The relief was so intense that Christian began to cry….begging to see her NOW! Elliot and Carrick tried to tell him that she was in a coma in the ICU and he wouldn't be allowed in but he lifted himself up, despite the pain, and began to weave his way to the door. His father and brother knew that he would not be deterred so each took an arm and held him up. A nurse approached with a syringe and ran into the 6'5 260 lbs. brick wall that was Elliot. She then scurried away in fear as the three men continued on their way to Ana.

Several yards before her door, Christian broke free from his helpers and raced through the doors. During the 30 seconds it took Elliot and Carrick to enter the room, Christian had already eased himself unto the bed and was holding Ana against his chest as he leaned back into the headboard. His countenance was one of peace. Within minutes he'd fallen asleep, holding Ana.

As Christian thought back to that horrible time, he realized that he'd been living in constant fear of losing Ana and that that fear had preceded the attempt on their lives. He realized, in fact, that he'd been living in fear since the night he found Ana sleeping on the stairs as he played the piano. He had a treasure that could not be replicated. He had everything he could ever want in life in one tiny woman. He was at the mercy of fate. Anything could take Ana away. When he was a Dom, he never felt fear. He ran a multi-billion-dollar company. He could have any woman he wanted in any way that he wanted her. Even the loss of a great sub meant essentially nothing to him. He loved his family but even their loss he could manage.

Ana was his heart, his breath. The loss of Ana would destroy him. There would be no coming back from that. He shivered and drew her closer. Stay, Ana, he thought. Stay healthy and alive and with me.

 **FLYNN**

"So, let me get this straight, Christian. You are deeply and overwhelmingly in love with this woman. You are happy beyond measure and terrified beyond words to lose her."

"You love Rhian, right? How do you handle it? How do you keep the fear at bay? How do you come to the office everyday knowing that Rhian could be hit by a truck and you'd never see her again? Tell me, John. How do you survive love?"

"Geez, Christian. Now you've got _me_ worried. How are you going to handle children?"

"No children, John."

"You don't want children? What does Ana have to say about that?"

"She doesn't know. We haven't discussed it. She still thinks that I'll grow tired of her and rebuild my playroom.

I couldn't tolerate being with another woman and I certainly can't imagine ever hitting Ana, even with a feather.

After we found out about her heart, I had a vasectomy. We still use condoms because I don't want her putting unnecessary chemicals in her body and I don't have the nerve to tell her what I've done."

John Flynn just stared at his strangest client….thinking that he once thought the whole BDSM thing was odd. He had no idea that a Christian as a man in love and devoted to a woman would weird him out even more than ropes and handcuffs.

"Christian, I must confess that I really don't know what to say. I do think that as time goes on, you'll become more accustomed to being in love and more at ease with all its consequences. This level of intensity isn't sustainable. You'll relax in time.

Christian gazed at Flynn with disdain. Relax? Take Ana for granted?

"Look, Christian, if I were to lose Rhian, I would be shaken with shock and grief, but I'm not going to let fear of that interfere with my current happiness. Or, for that matter, Rhian's. Go home. Be in love. Be happy."

Christian stared out the car window, mulling over Flynn's words. He knew that John was right. He was going to ruin his relationship with Ana if he continued worrying over her health, her possibly leaving him, and a million other things that could go wrong. She already worried over his worrying. That certainly wasn't fair to her. He had to lighten up. After all, no one was currently trying to kill them. That was something, wasn't it? Of course, when she found out about the house and the vasectomy, she might kill him.

 **THE PICNIC**

 **When he returned to the penthouse, Christian had a plan. That made him feel in control and that was comforting. He spoke with Gail and Jason. They were on board although Jason didn't feel completely comfortable and had a couple of conditions. Then Christian went to find Ana. She had been reading on the couch. She preferred the library but with Christian gone, she wanted to be nearest the elevator. Jason saw her head drop on the monitors so he checked on her. The entire household and all of the security detail were well trained in first aid now and how to watch out for Ana's health. Jason checked her temperature, blood pressure and heart rate. With a sigh of relief, he knew that she was just sleeping so he picked her up and put her to bed.**

 **Christian knew she'd be waking soon so he took the time he had left to lie next to her, to just look at her. He let himself feel the happiness and the love, as advised by Flynn, instead of the fear. God, he so worshipped her. He was still baffled that all this love had come to a man as damaged as him.**

 **Ana started to mumble which always made Christian smile, esp. when he understood some of the words. He recalled the first time she mumbled "Christian, love". At the time, they had not yet declared their feelings for each other and he thought, as taught to him by Elena, that he was incapable of love, that Dominates were above such ordinary feelings. No, no, he'd thought at the time. This woman was the epitome of gentleness, kindness but she was also shy, timid and easily wounded. However, she was also quite brave, in her way. When he read Welch's report on her life…extreme poverty, taking care of everyone else but no one caring for her…..he marveled that she'd gotten through 22 years unscathed by cynicism, self-pity, anger. Falling in love with him, he feared, would ruin her. He couldn't, he felt at the time, return her feelings. He marveled now at how completely overcome he was by his love for her.**

 **She opened her eyes, slowly, until she saw Christian and then her eyes were wide open and brilliant blue….the blue that still made him gasp with wonder. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Even such a chaste kiss made his soul soar. She reached up and wove her hand through his hair and he was done for. She explored his mouth with her tongue and caressed his lips with hers. He groaned as he gently played with her breasts and then he needed to take them in his mouth, needed to suckle her nipples. Ana moaned and arched her back as he nipped and kissed and licked his way down her body. Every bit of her tasted so delicious, it was always a race to touch her everywhere before he just had to be inside her. She was writhing with need for him and he loved it. Subs were trained to never move, to intensify the orgasm by concentrating on the feelings. They'd be punished if they moved. What could he have been thinking? Ana silent, still? Never, she communicated her desire with every sound, every movement and he needed that.**

 **He reached her clitoris and began sucking and licking. He didn't order her to come like he did with his subs. He didn't want Ana to be able to control her reactions. He wanted….well…real. Suddenly, she arched her back and roared his name. As she was still orgasming, he thrust into her and, oh, lord, only with Ana had it ever been so good. As she began to come down from her high, he soared into his, calling her name over and over. She was heaven. She was safety and warmth. She was home.**

 **He wrapped himself around her and whispered her name over and over. He told her that he loved her over and over. "Don't leave me, Ana. Please don't ever leave me. Promise me." She looked up into his grey eyes and couldn't disappoint him so, of course, she promised….but she felt ashamed because she knew she'd probably have to break that promise. So, "Never. As long as you want me, I'll always be here."**

 **Christian noticed the qualifier. She still expected him to tire of her. Well, it was enough because he'd always want her.**

 **They lay together, talking quietly about everything. Christian felt such peace. Then he brought up his idea.**

 **"I was thinking that I'd like to have a picnic on some property along the Sound. There's an empty house and the owner wouldn't mind. We could sit on the dock and dangle our feet in the water. There might even be a small fishing boat in the boathouse that we could take out and float around. Would you like to do that?"**

 **"YES!" At that Ana leapt out of bed and into the bathroom. Christian sat up, smiling at her enthusiasm. He had a good idea and she liked it. This pleased him so.**

 **"Get out of that bed and come to the shower!" Ana yelled from the bathroom. He never allowed her to shower alone anyway….always fearful that she would fall.**

 **A long, hot shower and longer, hotter shower sex later, the two were dressed for their picnic. Ana was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Christian felt a stab of fear, seeing how thin she was. Still, she was stunning…..no matter what, she was always stunning.**

 **He hadn't told her that they would be completely alone. She expected to be surrounded by coverts but this was an occasion when he wanted privacy. Thus, he'd made a deal that Jason would drive them and then station himself in front of the house. That would be the totality of their security. Gail reluctantly agreed on the condition that more security be stationed several blocks away but close enough to intervene if necessary. Sitting on a blanket, in the back of the old house, with no one watching was the first time Ana felt alone outside with Christian. It was wonderful.**

 **Christian spread out the blanket and staked it down. He brought out two large picnic baskets filled with picnic food….fried chicken, potato salad, fruit, chips and, of course, chocolate cake. He beamed with happiness as he watched Ana eat like a logger. Maybe that was the secret to her appetite….eating outside.**

 **At one point, he noticed that she shivered. She said nothing about being cold but it was getting cooler as the day headed toward evening. Christian reached into a bag behind him and pulled out a large sweater. He leaned over and helped Ana into it. Ana smiled but said nothing. It was just Christian, as always looking out for her.**

 **After eating, they lay looking up at the stars and talking about life and love….and housing.**

 **"I bought this house and the acreage with it," Christian began. "I figured that we could tear down the old house and built whatever we want. Is that okay with you?...I mean, that I bought the place without discussing it with you?"**

 **"Well, Christian, it is your money to do with as you wish. However, if you are asking my opinion, I'd tell you to keep the house. I know that you'll have Elliot do the building and he's into sustainability and such and I do applaud that but recycling is quite important. Tearing down this house means adding to a landfill and wasting a, well, house. Perhaps since sustainability is important to you, Elliot could work his magic by fixing this place. It is charming..from what I can see. But if you want a different style of house, then go ahead and tear it down. It is all up to you."**

 **Christian smiled. "The house is for** _ **us**_ , Ana. You'll be living here, too. So, what you want is important to me."

"But perhaps someday, if you wish me gone, you'll find yourself stuck with a house you don't want."

"I will never wish you gone, Ana. Come. I want to show you something." He took her hand and led her down to the old boathouse. It was a very simple place with the main floor half in the water for the boat and a shaky set of stairs leading to the second floor. When they reached the second floor, Ana saw that there was a full wall of windows looking over the Sound. The windows looked new. Odd. The moon was full and brilliant yellow. There was a loveseat in front of the windows. They sat down and oohed and aahed. It was incredibly beautiful, Ana thought.

"Yes, but not as beautiful as you. Nothing ever could be," Christian seemed to read her mind.

As they cuddled together on the loveseat, Christian began the speech he'd been working on.

"Ana, until I met you, I was lonely, angry and flooded with feelings of ennui. I could have been given a death sentence and not cared. It's taken months to work up to this although I know now that I've been seriously and irrevocably, truly, deeply, madly in love with you almost from our first meeting. I remember the day you brought home groceries and you were so excited about being able to buy all that food. You told me about everything you bought and all the different ways it could be used and the fun of being in a supermarket. I sat fascinated and delighted the whole time.

My devotion to you has only grown stronger with every day. I am not a frivolous man, Ana. I don't change my mind. I am not going to tire of you and want to rebuild my playroom. I am the happiest man alive, I know. But there is something I need desperately from you. Without it, my happiness will fade."

Ana looked at Christian in alarm. No, no, she wanted Christian happy. Whatever he needed, she'd give.

"What can I give you, sweetie?" asked Ana. She loved using endearments and hearing them from him.

"You can give me your promise….your unqualified promise…that you will never leave me. Even if something happens to my brain and I tell you to go, you'll stay until or even if I don't regain my senses."

Ana hesitated. "I always want to make you happy and stay with you but…."

"No buts, Ana."

Christian reached into his pocket and produced a ring….a pink diamond, small enough for Ana's tiny finger but of the highest possible quality. Then he dropped to his knee, with the dazzling moon behind him, and proposed.

"Anastasia Rose, please be mine. Please be wife to my husband for the rest of our lives and beyond, if possible.

You are my life. You are my heart and my soul. Marry me. And soon." He looked at her with eyes beseeching her acceptance and belief in his words.

Ana looked at him. She looked at the ring and all that it meant. He wasn't going to tire of her. He'd never want her to leave. They could be together forever and she would never feel the fear of losing him again. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she held out her hand and nodded because she couldn't yet speak. Christian slipped the ring on her delicate finger and then kissed her palm.

He smiled and asked if he could get a verbal reply at some point because he'd been dreaming of 'yes' coming from her lips for some time now.

Sniffling, blowing her nose on Christian's ever-present handkerchief, Ana tried to open her mouth but all that came out was full-on sobbing. Christian sat back up on the loveseat and embraced Ana until she calmed down,

wishing he had a blood pressure cuff with him. He kissed her forehead and relaxed at it's coolness. Ana swiveled her body to face him and threw her arms tightly around his neck.

"Yes. You, too, are my life. How could I possibly say no? Did you think I would?"

"I _was_ afraid that you wouldn't believe in forever with me. You've been packed to go since you arrived, you know. When we get back to Escala, I'm tossing that little suitcase down the incinerator."

Ana laughed and hugged him tighter. Then she took a good look at the ring. "It's perfect, Christian, just perfect."

"It is now that it's where it should be," beamed Christian.

"Show me the house?" asked Ana.

As they wandered through, Ana gasped at this and that. Gorgeous fireplaces. A beautiful staircase which Christian didn't plan on Ana ever using. He would install an elevator next to it. A kitchen that needed, to Ana's mind, just new appliances. She loved the ancient cabinets, built in 1920. She was quite excited about the huge pantry. The basement was just an empty storage area. Christian could envision a fitness center, complete with a pool for Ana. Her doctors had advised light exercising and swimming would be perfect.

"Ana, I've never enquired. Do you swim?"

"No, I've never been near water except for the fishing boat and I wasn't allowed to get into the water itself."

"We could put a pool down here and I could teach you. Would you like that?"

"We'd be in the water, possibly naked. Hmmm…. "

Christian laughed. "You're right. I'll get you a teacher…a female teacher."

Upstairs, the doors to the rooms were all wide open to keep the air fresh. Ana was drawn like a homing beacon to the master. She flew through to the balcony and its spectacular view of the Sound and the moon. She turned to Christian and his lips and his belt. A while later, sweaty and exhausted on the carpet, both holding tight and beaming at each other, still connected as was always Christian's preference, they talked about the house and all they could do with it. Ana couldn't wait to see what Gail and Jason would want for their house. Then they fell asleep. The sun woke them quite early.

They explored the ensuite with its claw-footed tub and double sinks without vanities and a shower in the tub surrounded by a curtain. They laughed the whole time they were trying to have a shower together in the tiny space. Sex was impossible so, as cute as it all was, they agreed to gut the space and use a bedroom next door to built a proper bathroom.

As they were heading back downstairs, looking forward to an IHOP breakfast, Ana passed the nursery. It was adorable and she was quite excited about its future use. Christian decided to wait on that discussion.

So it was that they drove away from their new home, rested and so completely happy. Tomorrow was Sunday brunch at Grace's and Carrick's with the big announcements. Elliot could then be enlisted to update their house and, Ana was certain, Mia would begin wedding plans immediately.

"What kind of wedding do you want, Christian?"

"Isn't that usually bride's choice? replied Grey.

"Nope. At least not with me. I don't want you to dread the festivities, especially the elaborate one that Mia will probably want. If you want a quickie at the courthouse, I'm all in, honey."

Christian smiled. He didn't know if he preferred 'honey', 'sweetie', 'sweetheart', 'dear or darling'. He loved them all. "You really don't have an opinion, really? That's kind of hard to believe. I thought all little girls planned their weddings by the age of 10."

Ana laughed. "Well, I suppose a lot do but I never expected to marry so…."

"Why not?" Christian asked in surprise.

"Well, I wasn't really bride material. No one talked to me at school. The first date I ever had was with you."

"I am a very particular man, I'll have you know," said Christian in his haughtiest manner, "and I find you to be the very finest in bride material. And call me selfish, 'cause I am, but I'm thrilled to be your one and only."

"Aw, you're a doll, buddy. Okay, I think a small family affair outside, early evening, twinkly lights, would be charming and low key enough for you to not panic about my heart."

"I'm that transparent, huh?"

"Even half asleep, I can feel a thermometer in my ear and a blood pressure cuff squeezing my arm.

Christian laughed loudly as they pulled into IHOP. "Eat for me, okay?"

"Yes, dear," Ana replied, sighing.

 **BRUNCH AT GREY MANOR**

"YAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!

Ana and Christian had just walked in the door but Mia had internal radar where engagement rings were concerned. Everyone stared in astonishment as Mia threw her arms around the engaged couple before grabbing Ana's hand and examining the ring.

"Nicely done, brother."

"Well, thank you, Mia. High praise coming from an expert in such things," grinned Christian.

Ana had slipped into shy-mode, despite how often she'd been with the family. The only person she was fully at ease with was Christian.

"Mia, calm down," chided Grace. "What are you so excited about?" she asked as she followed Mia's gaze to Ana's hand. Then she began screaming and crying and hugging while Carrick and Elliot stood looking blank.

"Carrick," said Grace, " you do know what this little pink diamond on Ana's ring finger means, don't you?

Oh, for cryin' out loud…men. It's an engagement ring, from your son."

Carrick eyes bugged out and Elliot damn near bear-hugged Christian into unconsciousness. As he released Christian, he turned to Ana. "Careful, El," gasped Christian as he tried to catch his breath. Elliot did gently embrace Ana. He kissed her cheek and called her 'lil sis'. Ana liked that.

"Everybody be cool when Kate arrives. Start a pool. How long before Kate notices the ring?" suggested Elliot.

"Immediately," voted Mia.

"What's the prize," asked Christian.

"Bragging rights," replied Elliot.

"Well, before Kate arrives, perhaps you'll have time for a chat with your old man in the study, Christian?"

Christian shook his head in exasperation and kissed Ana's cheek as he whispered, "Told you."

"Be nice. He's only looking out for you," consoled Ana.

In the study, Carrick poured a Jim Beam for Christian and lit a cigar for himself. Christian glared at him and his cigar. "Ana could need a nap suddenly, you know that, Dad."

"Of course, forgot. Sorry," Carrick apologized as he extinguished the cigar. He poured himself a glass of bourbon for courage. This discussion had to be had but he expected to be yelled at.

"I'll save you the trouble of getting yourself _into_ trouble, Dad. No prenup. Just a marriage license and a new will….the second of which I'd like to take care of as soon as possible."

"Well, okay, that was easy. Let's go eat," smiled Carrick.

As they emerged from the study, they heard Kate banging through the front door. Christian grimaced. Why couldn't she ring the bell? He rang the bell and this was his former home.

Elliot and Mia were stifling their laughter. Ana was sitting calmly on a loveseat, waiting for Christian. Kate walked over to her fella and plopped herself on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and waited for the explosion.

"When _we_ get engaged," Kate looked pointedly at a pale Elliot, "you're wearing a ring, too. I want everyone to know that you are taken as well as me." Elliot merely nodded obediently. He'd had the ring in his pocket for a while now. Well, at least he knew that she'd say 'yes' if not an outright 'gimme gimme'. She was a pistol, his girl. Her support during and following the crash had solidified his intention to marry her. She was a keeper and a hoot.

"I win," screamed Mia. "I knew it. How long did it take for you to notice Kate?"

"About a second or so. Let's get a close-up, Ana. Wow, that is one incredible ring. It's a good thing you're a multi-billionaire and not just a plain old one-billionaire, Christian. Elliot, do not spend that kind of money or I'll have your dick in a twist."

"Yes, ma'am," Elliot winced as Grace and Carrick looked appalled.

"So, Mia. When, where and what?" asked Kate.

"Well, I've known of a great venue for a while now…."began Mia as Ana giggled. Christian smiled at his girl. Lord, he loved that giggle.

"Mia," he interrupted. "We already have an idea for you to work on."

"Yes, Mia, I want you to plan the wedding but we do have a basic idea of what we want," soothed Ana at Mia's disappointed expression.

"Okay, continue," urged Mia, trying to be generous about her duty being taken from her.

"Outside, family and a few friends…"began Ana.

"A few friends," cautioned Christian. "Look it up. FEW."

"Early evening. Twinkly lights. Simple and elegant."

"Oh, that sounds lovely, Ana. I know you want to go all out, Mia but you'll have to wait for the next wedding. You know that Ana's heart requires less excitement, not more," Kate reminded her soon-to-be-sister.

Mia nodded. Yes, she had forgotten. She smiled at Ana and gave Christian a look. Ana was nodding off. He kissed her forehead. It was cool. Grace checked her temperature and bp before Christian picked her up to take her to a bedroom.

"God, my original plans would have killed her outright," Mia allowed. "They're still great ideas, tho', you know, for someone more amenable to elaborate affairs," she unabashedly hinted. Kate and Elliot just laughed.

Then Kate kissed her fella and said, "Six months is long enough to decide if you want to spend the rest of your days with someone. We have the hottest sex on the planet and you worship the ground upon which I walk. Mia has to get busy here because I'm going to put you through the party of your life. I'd just give you a date and tell you when to show up in a tux but I'm an old-fashioned girl who wants her guy to get down on one knee and beg for her hand."

Elliot grinned. "Don't you want me to ask your father for your hand?"

"I'm not _that_ old fashioned, El. Besides, he'd say no. He thinks you're still the manwhore of Seattle and only momentarily infatuated with yet another blonde….which you are not, right?"

Elliot smiled at his girl. He either laughed all day or wanted to kill her. He hadn't spent a moment being bored since they'd met and he hadn't even considered hitting the bars for some novelty. She was 'it'.

"Nope. I've been madly in lust with you from the beginning and madly in love since about ten minutes later. Okay, get off me, you cow."

Kate cheerfully jumped off his lap. Elliot got down on one knee and began to speak.

"I love you, Kate Kavanaugh. I never dreamed I'd get lucky and meet the "one". You are the one, the all, everything. You make me happy and infuriated, sometimes in the same moment. You are completely worthless as a housekeeper, as a cook. I know that I will have to continue my bachelor ways…buying my groceries, do the cooking, laundry, cleaning. By the way, you're doing your own laundry. I don't want to hear how I destroyed a sweater or a bra. Meanwhile, I look ahead and know that no matter what, you'll always have my back. You'll always jump me the second I walk in the door and you'll always wake me up at 3 in the morning demanding sex.

"I decided to marry you the day of the crash when you took care of me and Mia and don't think I didn't notice that you were horrified yourself and in shock. Then you sat the bedside of a virtual stranger and talked to her even tho' you were in bad shape yourself. That's the day I went out and started looking at rings. Now, if you want a different sort of ring…no problem. I just want you to marry me asap.

"Katherine Kavanaugh, will you be my wife and complete my life?"

In a very small voice, so unlike her, with tears rolling down her face, Kate said yes and then put out her hand. Elliot slipped a large diamond on her finger, kissed her palm and said thank you in a small voice, so unlike _him_.

The two embraced, holding on tight.

They seemed unaware of Mia sitting there the whole time. By now she was bawling. Grace and Carrick walked into the room to find Christian and Ana missing, Kate and Elliot locked so close together that air couldn't flow between them and their youngest child crying her heart out. Carrick wanted to turn around and go back to the kitchen but Grace grabbed his arm before he could make his get-away.

"Mia, dear," Grace said soothingly as she put her arm around her daughter, "why are you crying?"

"Everybody is getting married and I get to plan it all," Mia sniffled.

"Oh, of course, happy tears then." Grace understood her daughter. Carrick just handed over his handkerchief.

Carrick looked confused but as he caught on, he demanded that Kate and Elliot stand up to receive their congratulation hugs. They cooperated and then immediately went back to tightly holding each other. "If they start doing it right here in the family room, I am kicking them out of the house," he asserted.

Grace laughed. "I think they'll be leaving shortly anyway, Cary. Relax, your children are getting married. We're going to be grandparents within a couple of years, I hope. And the weddings will be so much fun. You know Mia."

"Christian wants small, intimate. I can't invite my friends or yours, for that matter. It's going to be so small, you'll miss it all if you blink. Ah, but Kate…extravaganza time! Now I have to get busy on the first one. See you later."

With that Mia was off. It might be small but Christian and Ana were going to have a beautiful wedding. It would be a challenge. Mia was used to planning massive, over-the-top affairs but her head was already a whirl of ideas for a small gathering.

 **EPILOGUE**

Christian fessed up to his vasectomy which Ana laughed at, explaining that she did after all have a quite intimate acquaintance with little Richard. The doctor had already told her that her heart could not tolerate a pregnancy. She'd told the surgeon to save a few eggs that she and Christian could use for a surrogacy, i.e. if he wanted her to stay. At the time, she was just planning for 'in case', of course. But now she knew she and Christian were forever. She also had no objection to adoption. Within the next five years, she and Christian became the parents of twins by surrogacy and a daughter by adoption.

The wedding was perfect and she and Christian honeymooned in Europe, sexing their way through the continent. The next year they repeated the trip, hopping this time to actually see some of Europe.

Mia planned the wedding of the year for Kate and Elliot who had a blast. Ana needed two naps and had to leave early when her heart rate spiked and she developed a fever. But it was quite the party. And Mia met Kate's brother, Ethan. He was a few years older and decades more mature but still he was charmed by the wild and crazy Mia. He was initially stunned by her emerald eyes and raven hair. He'd never seen a beauty like her and then her personality knocked him out. She was exhausting and exquisite.

Kate was so stunning that Elliot cried as she walked down the aisle. He didn't even notice the scowl on Mr. Kavanaugh's face. There were hundreds of people there, including the media. They'd not been invited to Christian's and Ana's wedding, of course, but this crazy affair made great press. Christian and Ana had merely released a photo but Kate and Elliot…..videos, stills, interviews.

For a wedding present, Elliot gave Kate her own black Amex card….with a limit. He also built a huge walk-in closet out of a spare bedroom with space for a thousand shoes. Kate gave Elliot the news that he would be a father in a little less than seven months. After nearly blacking out, Elliot revived and could not stop grinning like the village idiot.

Christian and Ana sat on the loveseat in the boathouse, admiring the moon and cuddling as closely as possible. Christian let out a very contented sigh. Life, he thought, was now a beautiful dream.


End file.
